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Maccabi GB Sports Awards 2019: winners announced

This year's Maccabi GB Sports Awards single out the efforts and achievements of athletes who have performed above the call of duty and shown star qualities, both on and off the pitch.

December 12, 2019 09:23
Oliver Strange says winning the Susan Halter Elite Athlete award is “wonderful recognition” for his efforts and he insists it will make him “dream bigger”.
10 min read

Sam Meisel described winning the UJIA European Maccabi Games Junior Award as the “perfect birthday present”.

Meisel, who turned 16 at the start of this month, came up trumps in Budapest after accepting a challenge to compete three years above his age group. Representing Team Maccabi GB in the under-18 futsal competition, he passed the test with flying colours and helped the team retain gold.

Meisel, who studies at JFS and lives in Radlett, saved the day as he stepped in at the 11th hour after goalkeeper Max Schulberg was ruled out through injury. All this after Meisel had shown remarkable powers of recovery earlier in the year as he recovered from a ruptured spleen. And by August, just five weeks after his call-up, he was standing proudly on the winners’ podium in a sport he had only been playing for 18 months.

Victory was confirmed with a 7-3 success over Hungary in the final. Meisel recalled: “ I was originally selected for the U16 squad and I was really excited after being called into the U18s and not daunted by the fact I was playing three years up.