I chatted to Brazilians, Mexicans, Venezuelans, Hong King supporters and Costa Ricans. Each nation cheered its competitors and everyone cheered the small delegations from Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, or the Cayman Isles, places we didn’t even know there were Jews. If we didn’t know what a chagigah was before, we did now!
In a surreal staged moment, a Canadian Ice Hockey player married his fiancée on stage. Something for Love Island to emulate next year? I wandered round the stadium meeting British cricketers, American lacrosse and netball juniors, and a Cayman runner who declared one of our juniors “beast fast”! An omen of what was to come in the two nights of athletics in Jerusalem?
Even arriving early at the Givat Ram University Stadium, I saw the Brits had taken all the seats along the finishing straight. Although very 'un-British' we introduced ourselves and soon knew who was whose parent and who was whose grandma. After that they were all our grandma and grandpas!
The kids moved easily in and out amongst us, getting the first hugs for nearly two weeks, as they had been kept in camp together at Zichron Yaakov. The spirit amongst them was good, they sat close together, often with their arms round each other. Sprinter Ellie Edwards, the one senior woman, who was doubling up as manager of the under-18 juniors, stood out, a combination of big sister, madricha, manager and athlete. She and Eden Davis, the junior male sprinter, who represents GB under-20s, were soon racing and made their 100m finals, where they faced athletes with better PBs.
Eden was first to race, ahead by half way, flying through for first place and our applause. Davis is the real deal, form immaculate, arms driving up and down, his body never twisting or rotating, economy of effort, his “in the zone” focus retained even after victory. Then it was Ellie’s turn. She came hurtling down the straight, in third place, then in second, but nearly losing it on the line as she turned her head to look across. She thought she had lost it too. It was only when the scoreboard flashed up, she realised she had silver not bronze. She celebrated by running straight into the arms of her charges trackside. Two races, two medals!
Then some real drama. One of the 4x100m relay juniors had pulled a hamstring. The only available runner, David Stone, had run neither 100m nor a relay for four years. Shuttle to the hotel. Pick up spikes. Back to track. Warm-up, then run. He got the baton round to Davis for the anchor leg with the team in fourth place. Davis stormed through for second in an explosion of power. An unexpected silver. We were full of joy.
The following night and the Brits still owned the finishing straight. Our sprinters progressed to the 200m finals. First up Eden. As he rounded the bend, we could see he was in front. He won with something in reserve, yet breaking his PB. We were on cloud nine. Then it was David Stone, at 15 the youngest and smallest in the 3,000m, where the Israelis had, at the last minute, slipped in a big Ethiopian. We were treated to an audacious display of front running as David ran 800m pace to go 100 metres clear at the 600m mark. It was a tactical masterstroke. The race stayed like that until he beetled down the back straight in the final lap, slowing to a jog for the last 100m, raising both arms, index fingers pointing at the sky, as he stepped over the finishing line, a smile of pure pleasure on his face. It may have been 12 seconds slower than his best but this race was all about winning gold, nothing else mattered.
And then it was Ellie’s turn in the 200m final. Four women had better PBs, but as she rounded the bend, we saw she was leading. We were ecstatic. No turn of the head this time. She ran straight through the finish and into the embrace of her juniors, taking 0.58 seconds off her PB. Sprinters just don’t do that.
Lifted by the experience? A clear case of faster, stronger, higher - the 2017 Maccabiah motto. “It’s raining men” boomed the sound system. We joined in, “It’s raining medals, I don’t care, I love it” burst out of the speakers, and how we loved it!
Three golds in half an hour. Our own Super Thursday. And then somewhere in all this delirium, Idan Gal-Shochet, our high jumper, pulled out a clear bronze in the long jump final. Podium ceremony after podium ceremony, our kids draped in the Union flag.
And so to the 4x400m relays. The Junior men came fourth. Then a bonus. The USA victors were disqualified. Suddenly we had another bronze, and Ellie picked up the same as member of a composite team. Eleven athletes, four individual golds, one silver, one bronze; three relay medals.
To those like James Espir who say this was a poor games, we can say, “You weren’t there, you didn’t see it and you didn’t feel it”. We sent out a good team, with one of our individual medallists already a GB international, and the others in the top 10 in the UK for their year. They made great friends. Some described it as the “best two weeks of their life”!
Maariv, the Israeli newspaper, at the end of 2012 Olympics, talked about the “pure joy of giving of your very best”. Several of our athletes experienced this, whether it was PBs or just getting the tactics right, to achieve moments of sporting euphoria that lift athlete and spectator forever.
As for the parents, this was a wonderful cross community event. We met people we would not have normally met and we all celebrated together. And, of course, there was Israel. Many juniors had been before, but even so, Maccabi GB organised events, tours and volunteering, as did other nations.
We spent Shabbat in Haifa, coincidentally staying at the USA Juniors’ hotel. Their team doctor had spent several days in a north galilee Arab village testing kids eyes and prescribing glasses. Their track and field coaches and athletes knew our juniors, who had mixed with people from all over the world. Our children came back with suitcases full of American, Australian, Mexican, Venezualan, and Canadian team shirts, shorts, hats, flags and bags. For people like Eden, who will go on to be a professional, this was a stepping stone. For others, who knows? That isn’t the point. They will have taken confidence from their achievements, and maybe learnt something too about communal identity, loyalty and togetherness.
If the track star was Eden Davis, the overall star was Ellie Edwards who, in combining her roles of manager and athlete, may have shown the youngsters how to behave as a young adult member of the community.
Yes James, you are right, more should be done to provide bursaries for those deterred by the cost. Maybe athletes in the top 10 nationally should be given free passage to encourage the very best to go. However, Maccabiahs occur only every four years, English Schools and Nationals occur yearly, and there is of course only one Jewish State.
Eden Davis went straight from Maccabiah to race for GB under-20s, showing you can have your kosher cake and eat it! You are right that the Maccabiah world-wide could do well to consider better financial supports so that the sporting benefits can be maximised, whilst the other benefits are retained.
And as for your 5,000m record, well don’t be so sure….all records go sometimes! Watch this space!
Anon: a parent of one of the Team Maccabi GB athletes who attended the 20th Maccabiah Games in Israel
