Israel at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Israel won its first Olympic medals at the 1992 Barcelona Games, where Yael Arad took silver and Oren Smadja won bronze in judo.[1][2] The country returned from the 2012 London Games without a medal.[3] Israel entered Rio with seven Olympic medals: Ynet described Gerbi's bronze as the eighth, and Sport5 described Sasson's later bronze as the ninth.[4][2]

Contemporary sources agreed that the Rio team was Israel's largest Olympic delegation to that point, but they differed on the precise figures. Maariv and Sport1 listed 47 athletes.[5][6] The Jewish Virtual Library listed 48 qualifying athletes.[7] Maariv counted 16 sports, whereas Sport1 counted a record 17; the Jewish Virtual Library described 16 events.[7][5][6] Golf, triathlon, and mountain biking were among the sports in which Israel was represented at the Olympics for the first time.[7] The Israeli Olympic Committee set three stated goals: win at least one medal, reach at least ten finals, and enter sports in which Israelis had not previously competed.[6] Israel had reached eight finals at London 2012 and six at Beijing 2008.[6]

Pre-Games reports highlighted a granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, a Kenyan-born marathoner, Israel's first Olympic triathlete, and an American-Israeli sprinter originally from Los Angeles among the team members.[3] More than half of the delegation was women, and Israel Olympic Committee CEO Gili Lustig reported that Israelis ultimately reached finals in seven sports.[8]

Israel's men's team included athletes across a wide range of disciplines. In athletics, Donald Sanford competed in the 400 metres, Dmitry Kroytor in the high jump, and Tesama Moogas, Marhu Teferi, and Ageze Guadie in the marathon.[7] Teferi finished the marathon 74th in 2:21:06, Moogas 121st in 2:30:30, and Guadie 122nd in 2:30:45.[9] Misha Zilberman represented Israel in badminton singles, Alexander Shatilov competed in artistic gymnastics, and Shlomi Haimy contested the men's cross-country mountain-bike race, finishing 29th in 1:43:40 as the last Israeli to compete at the Games.[9] Ron Attias competed in taekwondo, Dudi Sela in tennis, Ron Darmon in triathlon, and Igor Olshanetskyi in weightlifting.[7]

In swimming, Imri Ganiel entered the 100-metre breaststroke, Ziv Kalontorov the 50-metre freestyle, Gal Nevo the 200-metre individual medley, and Yakov-Yan Toumarkin the 200-metre individual medley and the 100- and 200-metre backstroke.[7] Toumarkin's 54.66 seconds in the 100-metre backstroke was not sufficient to advance, while Amit Ivry completed the women's 100-metre breaststroke in 1:09 without reaching the semifinals.[10] Shooter Sergey Richter placed 14th in the men's 10-metre air rifle with 623.8 points, missing the top-eight qualification places.[10] In sailing, Shahar Tzuberi competed in the Neil Pryde RS:X, while Dan Froyliche and Eyal Levin sailed in the 470 class.[7]

Israel's women's team was similarly wide-ranging. Hanna Knyazyeva-Minenko competed in the triple jump, Marharyta Dorozhon in the javelin, and Korlima Chemtai and Maor Tiyouri in the marathon.[7] Delila Hatuel competed in fencing, Laetitia Beck in golf, Shani Bloch in road cycling, and Ilana Kratysh in wrestling.[7] Maayan Davidovich competed in the RS:X, while Nina Amir and Gil Cohen sailed in the 470 class. Andrea Murez, Amit Ivry, Zohar Shikler, and the synchronized-swimming duet of Anastasia Gloushkov and Yevgeniya Tetelbaum represented Israel in the pool.[7]

The rhythmic-gymnastics program featured Neta Rivkin in the individual event and the team of Yuval Filo, Alona Koshevatskiy, Ekaterina Levina, Karina Lykhvar, and Ida Mayrin in the group all-around.[7] Rivkin, who had finished seventh at the 2012 Olympics, carried Israel's flag at the opening ceremony in Rio.[11] She did not advance from individual qualification, finishing with 69.223 points, short of the top ten.[11]

Israel's judo team included Golan Pollack (−66 kg), Sagi Muki (−73 kg), and Or Sasson (+100 kg) among the men, and Shira Rishony (−48 kg), Gili Cohen (−56 kg), Yarden Gerbi (−63 kg), and Linda Bolder (−70 kg) among the women.[7]

Israel finished the Rio Games with two bronze medals, both in judo, ending a medal drought that had stretched back to Beijing 2008.[10][2] The country placed 77th in the final medal standings.[12]

Yarden Gerbi — Women's Judo, Under-63 kg (Bronze)

Yarden Gerbi won Israel's first medal of the Games on August 9, becoming the first Israeli Olympic medalist since windsurfer Shahar Tzuberi's bronze in Beijing in 2008.[10] The 27-year-old, a 2013 world champion in her weight class, lost to Brazil's Mariana Silva in the quarterfinal after regular time ended scoreless and Silva scored in overtime.[10] Gerbi then defeated China's Yang Junxia before beating Japan's Miku Tashiro in the bronze-medal bout, scoring first a yuko and then a waza-ari before regulation time expired.[10][4]

Gerbi became the seventh Israeli athlete to win an Olympic medal and only the second Israeli woman to do so, after Yael Arad's silver in judo at the 1992 Barcelona Games.[10][4] She began training at age six under coach Shani Hershko, who remained her trainer throughout her career, and retired from competition after Rio.[13] President Reuven Rivlin called Gerbi "our hero," and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also congratulated her.[10] Gerbi described her achievement simply: "My dream has come true."[10]

Or Sasson — Men's Judo, Over-100 kg (Bronze)

Or Sasson, 26, won Israel's second medal on August 12 in the men's over-100-kilogram event.[2] He defeated Egypt's Islam El Shehaby by ippon with approximately 1 minute and 36 seconds remaining in their first-round bout, then beat Poland's Maciej Sarnacki and the Netherlands' Roy Meyer by waza-ari.[2] In the semifinal, Sasson narrowly lost to France's Teddy Riner, who scored a waza-ari one second before the bout ended. Sasson then defeated Cuba's Alex García Mendoza 2–1 on penalties in the bronze-medal contest, in which neither judoka recorded a scoring throw.[2]

Sasson's bronze was Israel's ninth Olympic medal and made Rio the first Games since Athens 2004 in which Israel won two medals.[1][2] Together, the two judo bronzes represented Israel's best Olympic judo performance since Barcelona 1992, when Yael Arad won silver and Oren Smadja won bronze.[2]

Beyond the two medals, several Israeli athletes achieved strong finishes. Hanna Knyazyeva-Minenko placed fifth in the women's triple-jump final with a best jump of 14.68 metres on her fourth attempt; she held Israel's national record and had finished fourth at the 2012 Olympics while competing for Ukraine.[14] Sagi Muki placed fifth in the men's under-73-kilogram judo category while dealing with a back injury.[1] Linda Bolder finished seventh in the women's under-70-kilogram judo event.[2]

Israel's rhythmic-gymnastics team — Yuval Filo, Alona Koshevatskiy, Ekaterina Levina, Karina Lykhvar, and Ida Mayrin — finished sixth in the group all-around final with 34.549 points, equaling the team's best previous Olympic finish, achieved in Beijing in 2008.[9] Its score comprised 17.166 points in ribbons and 17.383 in clubs and hoops. The team had won three gold medals at the European Championships earlier in 2016.[9]

In women's windsurfing, Maayan Davidovich finished seventh overall in the RS:X event, placing ninth in the final race.[14]

Ahead of the Games' opening, the International Olympic Committee held a commemoration at a memorial site in the Olympic Village for the twelve people killed at the 1972 Munich Olympics, eleven of them Israelis.[15] Ankie Spitzer and Ilana Romano, widows of two of the murdered Israeli athletes, had campaigned for years for official IOC recognition of the victims.[15] A moment of reflection was planned for Rio's closing ceremony. A separate ceremony was scheduled for August 14 at Rio City Hall, where the widows were to light eleven candles alongside Israeli Olympic Committee and consular officials.[15]

The Rio Games produced several politically charged incidents involving Israeli athletes. Lebanese athletes refused to allow the Israeli delegation to join their bus to the opening ceremony. A Saudi judoka did not appear for a bout that, had she won, would have matched her against an Israeli competitor.[16]

The most prominent incident followed the first-round judo match between Or Sasson and Egypt's Islam El Shehaby. After Sasson won by ippon, he approached El Shehaby to shake hands; El Shehaby stepped back, declined the handshake, and initially did not bow.[17] The referee called him back to the mat, where he gave a brief nod while the crowd booed. The International Olympic Committee condemned his conduct as "contrary to the rules of fair play and against the spirit of friendship embodied in the Olympic values." Sasson said he had offered his hand to show respect.[17]

Accounts differed over El Shehaby's departure from Rio. The IOC reported that the Egyptian Olympic Committee condemned his actions and sent him home, while Egypt's judo federation president, Sameh Moubasher, said El Shehaby returned with the rest of the team.[18] An INSS analysis found divided Egyptian reactions: some viewed the refusal as an embarrassment and a failure of sportsmanship, while others argued that El Shehaby faced significant domestic pressure and avoided the perceived personal and professional cost of shaking hands with an Israeli.[16] The Egyptian Olympic Committee publicly disavowed his conduct, and the analysis cautioned that criticism of the incident did not necessarily indicate support for normalization with Israel.[16]

Sport5 reported that heavy pressure had been applied before the contest for El Shehaby not to compete against the Israeli, although he ultimately chose to take part.[2] El Shehaby later announced that he would leave the sport.[7]

Israeli delegation figures also disputed the officiating in Yarden Gerbi's quarterfinal loss to Brazil's Mariana Silva. Ynet reported complaints by judo association chairman Moshe Ponte, men's coach Oren Smadja, and delegation professional director Danny Oren, who considered the judging unfair to Gerbi.[4] This was a reported objection by delegation members rather than an independently established finding of bias. Gerbi subsequently advanced through the repechage to win bronze.

The rhythmic-gymnastics program had faced turmoil before the Games following reports that head coach Ira Vigdorchik kicked gymnast Ekaterina Levina during training. Vigdorchik said the episode had derailed preparations, while team captain Alona Koshevatskiy said the preceding month's difficulties had not affected the team's performance in Rio.[9]

Rio 2016 became one of Israel's most productive Olympic Games. The two bronze medals ended a medal drought dating to 2008 and raised Israel's all-time total from seven to nine.[4][2] Five of those nine medals had come in judo, reinforcing the sport's status as Israel's most successful Olympic discipline.[2]

Yarden Gerbi became only the second Israeli woman to win an Olympic medal, following Yael Arad in 1992.[4] Or Sasson's medal made Rio the first Games since Athens 2004 in which Israel won more than one medal.[1] The delegation also broadened Israel's Olympic participation by entering golf, triathlon, and mountain biking for the first time.[7]

Israelis reached finals in seven sports, and more than half of the delegation was women.[8] Israel Olympic Committee CEO Gili Lustig presented those results, alongside the medal count, as evidence of the delegation's broader development.[8]

Later assessments emphasized both the medal results and the strength of Israel's judo program. A reader-contributed Ynet retrospective ranked Rio third among Israel's five most successful Olympic Games, noting that it was one of three Games in which Israel won two medals and the only one of those three in which both medals were the same color.[1] Sport5 characterized Rio as Israel's strongest Olympic judo campaign since Barcelona 1992.[2]

Contemporary reports did not agree on the delegation's precise size. Maariv and Sport1 counted 47 athletes, but differed between 16 and 17 sports.[5][6] The Jewish Virtual Library instead listed 48 qualifying athletes competing in 16 events.[7] These conflicting figures should therefore be presented as source differences rather than combined into a single uncontested count.