Israeli weightlifters at the World Championships in Saudi Arabia: a historic first

Two lifters became the first female athletes in any Olympic sport to compete below science From Israel In realityKingdom of Saudi Arabia. Exactly 51 years after the events of Munich 72, Celia Gold And Nicole Rubanovich He took to the stage in Riyadh for a 71km run on Tuesday evening (September 12). And now it is the turn of their compatriots Artur Mugurdumov (Wednesday 13) in the 102 kg group and David Litvinoff Among the heavyweights, on Sunday, the closing day of the event. “When the Israeli flag was displayed at the opening ceremony of the World Weightlifting Championships last Sunday (September 3), it was a huge thing for us,” said Oren Shay, head of the Israeli Federation. The journey was not long, but complicated, for us.” The small delegation bearing the Star of David on its uniform: In fact, there are no scheduled flights between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and no diplomatic relations between the two countries. During meetings and institutional meetings on the sidelines of the World Cup The delegation discussed that Israel is ranked next, in alphabetical order, after Italy.The Italian delegation celebrated its first gold medal in the World Championships on Monday, September 11, with the Cuban naturalizer. Oscar Reyes At 81 kg.

Celia Gold’s Olympic dream

Celia gold and gold in Maccapiades 2022has the best chance of the four athletes to qualify for Paris Games 2024. Born in the USA, 25 years old, program manager at Google, Gold (his name is Omen) has a record of 100 kg in the clean and jerk and 130 kg in the clean and jerk. Since 2022, she has worn the yellow jersey of Maccabi Tel Aviv: “I am very excited, competing in the Olympic Games is my biggest dream.” In Riyadh, he finished 23rd. Rubanovic finished behind her in 29th in the race, which was won by Chinese Liao Jifang.

“The victory of sports over politics”

“It is a great honor for us to have this opportunity,” Litvinov told Israel’s official Kan channel before departing. The President of the Iraqi International Federation, Muhammad Jalloud, added: “This shows that the weightlifting family is a strong and united family.” Sports remain outside politics.”

Next stop Qatar

Shay added: “Three years ago, when Saudi Arabia first proposed hosting these tournaments, I called Jaloud and said we want to be there. He said: ‘Don’t worry, you will be there.’” Shai said that the Israeli National Olympic Committee and the International Weightlifting Federation participated in the project, as well as diplomatic and security services. “It was an effort but it was a success, and everything went well.” Israel will send a team to Qatar, another country. With which it has no diplomatic relations, for the Grand Prix in December.

Previous in e-sports

There is only one precedent, as the website reminds us Insidethegames.biz: Earlier this year Israel sent an eSports team to the FIFA World Cup in Saudi Arabia. More broadly, efforts are being made, with the participation of the United States, to establish diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Beyond sports, Israel sent “observers” to the UNESCO summit in recent days – the first time an Israeli delegation has visited Saudi Arabia.

Negative precedent

The current Saudi position toward Israel in the world of sports stands in stark contrast to that of Iran, which does not recognize Israel’s legitimacy as a nation. Last September 1, Mostafa Rajaee, a 36-year-old Iranian athlete who shook hands with an Israeli after they won medals at the World Masters Championships in Poland, was banned for life, and the Iranian Weightlifting Federation was forced to publicly apologize for it. Her actions. A statement issued by the Iranian Weightlifting Federation said, “The Federation’s positions are in line with the positions of the sacred institution of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” Rajai will be banned from entering “all sports facilities” in his country. Iranian athletes in other sports were forced to withdraw from competitions to avoid competing against the Israelis.