Full schedule for Israel’s athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics

The Tokyo Olympics are kicking off, after a year’s delay due to the coronavirus pandemic and without fans, with the world’s top athletes hoping to provide the world with a semblance of normality. Israel’s delegation to Japan is the country’s biggest-ever by far, numbering 90 athletes.

The website Olympic Medals Predictions — which gathers data from world championships and other international competitions, in an attempt to guess the outcome of the games — has suggested Israel will take home five medals this year, while The Associated Press has predicted seven medals.

That could increase the pressure on the athletes, since the country has taken home a total of nine medals in its history, and has never won more than two medals at the same Olympics.

The Tokyo 2020 Games — still named so, despite the delay to 2021 — begin on July 23, and end on August 8.

They are broadcast in Israel by the Sports Channel, in the United States by NBC, and in the United Kingdom by the BBC and Eurosport.

Unfortunately for Israelis, the time difference with Japan means many events will be taking place in the (very) early morning hours for those watching from the Middle East. Mercifully, quite a few final rounds will be happening during waking hours.

Following is the full schedule for the events in which Israeli athletes will take part. All event times provided are for the Israeli time zone (GMT+3).

July 23

• 7 a.m. — Archery: Itay Shanny will take part in the men’s individual ranking round (elimination rounds, depending on the outcome, on either July 27, July 28 or July 29, starting each day at 3:30 a.m.; final rounds, in case of qualification, on July 31, starting 3:30 a.m.)
• 2 p.m. — Opening Ceremony of the 2020 Olympics

July 24

• 4 a.m. — Artistic Gymnastics: Alexander Shatilov and Artem Dolgopyat in the men’s qualification (in case of qualification: all-around final, July 28, at 1:15 p.m.; floor exercise and pommel horse finals, August 1, starting at 11 a.m.; rings and vault finals, August 2, starting at 11 a.m.; parallel bars and horizontal bar finals, August 3, starting at 11 a.m.)
• 4 a.m. — Taekwondo: Avishag Semberg in the women’s -49kg round of 16 (later rounds, in case of qualification, at 1 p.m.)
• 5 a.m. — Judo: Shira Rishony in the women’s -48kg round of 32 (final rounds, in case of qualification, at 11 a.m.)
• 7 a.m. — Badminton: Misha Zilberman in the men’s group stage
•  1 p.m. — Swimming: Anastasia Gorbenko in the women’s 100m butterfly qualification, Ron Polonsky in the men’s 400m individual medley qualification (later rounds, in case of qualification, the next day, starting 4:30 a.m.)

July 25

• 4:20 a.m. — Surfing: Anat Lelior in the women’s round 1 and 2
• 4:40 a.m. — Badminton: Ksenia Polikarpova in the women’s group stage
• 5 a.m. — Judo: Gili Cohen in the women’s -52kg round of 32, Baruch Shmailov in the men’s -66kg round of 32 (final rounds, in case of qualification, at 11 a.m.)
• 6 a.m. — Windsurfing: Yoav Cohen in the men’s RS:X race 1, 2 and 3, Shai Kakon in the women’s Laser Radial race 1 and 2
• 7 a.m. — Shooting: Sergey Richter in the 10m air rifle men’s qualification (final, in case of qualification, at 9:30 a.m.)
• 7 a.m.– Road Cycling: Omer Shapira in the women’s road race
• 9 a.m. — Windsurfing: Katy Spychakov in the women’s RS:X race 1, 2 and 3
• 11:05 a.m. — Artistic Gymnastics: Lihie Raz in the women’s qualification (in case of qualification: all-around final, July 29 at 1:50 p.m.; vault and uneven bars finals, August 1, starting at 11:50 a.m.; floor exercise final, August 2 at 12 p.m.; balance beam final, August 3 at 11:50 a.m.)
• 1 p.m. — Swimming: Anastasia Gorbenko in the women’s 100m backstroke and 100m breaststroke qualification, Denis Loktev in the men’s 200m freestyle qualification, Yaakov Toumarkin and Michael Leitrovsky in the men’s 100m backstroke qualification (later rounds, in case of qualification, will take place the next day, starting 4:30 a.m.)

July 26

• 12:30 a.m. — Triathlon: Ran Sagiv and Shachar Sagiv in the men’s race
• 1 a.m. — Surfing: Anat Lelior in the women’s round 3 (quarterfinals and semifinals, in case of qualification, the next day, starting 3:20 a.m.; medal matches, in case of qualification, on July 28, starting 2 a.m.)
• 4 a.m. — Badminton: Misha Zilberman and Ksenia Polikarpova in the men’s and women’s group stage, respectively
• 5 a.m. — Judo: Timna Nelson-Levy in the women’s -57kg round of 32, Tohar Butbul in the men’s -73kg round of 32 (final rounds, in case of qualification, at 11 a.m.)
• 6 a.m. — Windsurfing: Yoav Cohen in the men’s RS:X race 4, 5 and 6, Katy Spychakov in the women’s RS:X race 4, 5 and 6, Shai Kakon in the women’s Laser Radial race 3 and 4
• 9 a.m. — Mountain Biking: Shlomi Haimy in the men’s race
• 2 p.m. — Swimming: Anastasia Gorbenko in the women’s 200m individual medley qualification, Andi Murez in the women’s 200m freestyle qualification (later rounds, in case of qualification, the next day, starting 4:30 a.m.)

July 27

• 4 a.m. — Badminton: Misha Zilberman and Ksenia Polikarpova in the men’s and women’s group stage, respectively
• 5 a.m. — Judo: Gili Sharir in the women’s -63kg round of 32, Sagi Muki in the men’s -81kg round of 32 (final rounds, in case of qualification, at 11 a.m.)
• 6 a.m. — Shai Kakon in the women’s Laser Radial race 5 and 6
• 1 p.m. — Swimming: Meiron Cheruti in the men’s 100m freestyle qualification, Ron Polonsky in the 200m breaststroke qualification, Gal Cohen Groumi, Tomer Frankel, Denis Loktev and Daniel Namir in the men’s 4X200 freestyle qualification (later rounds, in case of qualification, the next day, starting 4:30 a.m.)

July 28

• 3 a.m. — Badminton: Ksenia Polikarpova in the women’s group stage (final rounds, in case of qualification, July 29, starting at 3 a.m.)
• 5 a.m. — Judo: Li Kochman in the men’s -90kg round of 32 (final rounds, in case of qualification, at 11 a.m.)
• 5:30 a.m. — Road Cycling: Omer Shapira in the women’s time trial
• 6 a.m. — Windsurfing: Yoav Cohen in the men’s RS:X race 7, 8 and 9, Katy Spychakov in the women’s RS:X race 7, 8 and 9
• 9 a.m. — Windsurfing: Noya Bar Am and Shahar Tibi in the Women’s 470 race 1 and 2
• 12 p.m. — Badminton: Misha Zilberman in the men’s group stage (final rounds, in case of qualification, July 29, starting at 11 a.m.)
• 1 p.m. — Swimming: Andi Murez and Anastasia Gorbenko in the women’s 100m freestyle qualification, Yaakov Tomarkin in the men’s 200m backstroke qualification, Gal Cohen Groumi and Ron Polonsky in the men’s 200m individual medley qualification (later rounds, in case of qualification. the next day, starting 4:30 a.m.)

July 29

• 5 a.m. — Judo, Inbar Lanir in the women’s -78kg round of 32, Peter Paltchik in the men’s -100kg round of 32 (final rounds, in case of qualification, at 11 a.m.)
• 6 a.m. — Windsurfing: Yoav Cohen in the men’s RS:X race 10, 11 and 12 (medal race, in case of qualification, July 31 at 9:30 a.m.), Shai Kakon in the women’s Laser Radial race 7 and 8, Noya Bar Am and Shahar Tibi in the Women’s 470 race 3 and 4, Katy Spychakov in the women’s RS:X race 10, 11 and 12 (medal race, in case of qualification, July 31 at 8:30 a.m.)
• 1 p.m. — Baseball: Israel vs South Korea in the group stage
• 1:50 p.m. — Swimming: Gal Cohen Groumi and Tomer Frankel in the men’s 100m butterfly qualification, Aviv Barzelay in the women’s 200m backstroke qualification, Andi Murez, Anastasia Gorbenko, Tomer Frankel and Itay Goldfaden in the mixed 4X100 medley qualification (later rounds, in case of qualification, the next day, starting 4:30 a.m.)

July 30

• 5:40 a.m. — Athletics: Diana Vaisman in the women’s 100m qualification (semifinal and final, in case of qualification, the next day, starting 1:15 p.m.)
• 6 a.m. — Judo: Raz Hershko in the women’s +78kg round of 32, Ori Sasson in the men’s +100kg round of 32 (final rounds, in case of qualification, at 11 a.m.)
• 6 a.m. — Windsurfing: Shai Kakon in the women’s Laser Radial race 9 and 10 (medal race, in case of qualification, August 1 at 9:30 a.m.), Noya Bar Am and Shahar Tibi in the Women’s 470 race 5 and 6
• 1 p.m. — Athletics: Selamawit Teferi and Lonah Chemtai Salpeter in the women’s 5,000m qualification (final, in case of qualification, August 2 at 3:40 p.m.), Hanna Knyazyeva-Minenko in the women’s triple jump qualification (final, in case of qualification, August 1 at 2:20 p.m.)
• 1 p.m. — Swimming: Meiron Cheruti in the men’s 50m freestyle qualification, Andi Murez in the women’s 50m freestyle qualification (later rounds, in case of qualification, the next day, starting 4:30 a.m.)
• 1 p.m. — Baseball: Israel vs United States in the group stage

July 31

• 5 a.m. — Judo: mixed team elimination round of 16 against Italy (later rounds to follow, in case of qualification)

August 1

• 3:40 a.m. — Athletics: Adva Cohen in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase qualification (final, in case of qualification, August 4 at 2 p.m.)
• 6 a.m. or 1 p.m. — Baseball: Israel plays in the knockout stage round 1 (in case of qualification — depending on outcomes — round 2 could be August 2, at either 6 a.m. or 1 p.m.; further possible games August 3 at 1 p.m. and August 4 at 6 a.m.; semifinals on August 4 at 1 p.m. and on August 5 at 1 p.m.; bronze medal match August 7 at 6 a.m.; gold medal match August 7 at 1 p.m.)
•  6 a.m. — Windsurfing: Noya Bar Am and Shahar Tibi in the Women’s 470 race 7 and 8

August 2

•  6 a.m. — Windsurfing: Noya Bar Am and Shahar Tibi in the Women’s 470 race 9 and 10 (medal race, in case of qualification, August 4 at 9:30 a.m.)
• 1:30 p.m. — Artistic Swimming: Eden Blecher and Shelly Bobritsky in the duet qualification (free routine final, in case of qualification, August 4 at 1:30 p.m.)

August 3

• 1 p.m. — Equestrian: Ashlee Bond, Danielle Goldstein Waldman, Alberto Michan and Teddy Vlock in the jumping individual qualification (final, in case of qualification, August 4 at 1 p.m.)

August 4

• 7:50 a.m. — Weightlifting: David Litvinov in the men’s +109kg category

August 5

• 12:30 a.m. — Marathon Swimming: Matan Roditi in the men’s 10km race

August 6

• 4:20 a.m. — Rhythmic Gymnastics: Linoy Ashram and Nicol Zelikman in the individual all-around qualification (final, in case of qualification, August 7 at 9:20 a.m.)
• 1 p.m. — Equestrian: Ashlee Bond, Danielle Goldstein Waldman, Alberto Michan and Teddy Vlock in the jumping team qualification (final, in case of qualification, August 7 at 1 p.m.)

August 7

• 1 a.m. — Athletics: Lonah Chemtai Salpeter and Maor Tiyouri in the women’s marathon
• 4 a.m. — Rhythmic Gymnastics: Yuliana Telegin, Yana Kramarenko, Ofir Dayan, Karin Vexman and Natalie Reitz in the group all-around qualification (final, in case of qualification, August 8 at 5 a.m.)
• 1:45 p.m. — Athletics: Selamawit Teferi in the women’s 10,000m race

August 8

• 1 a.m. — Athletics: Marhu Teferi, Girmaw Amare and Haimro Alame in the men’s marathon
• 2 p.m. — Closing Ceremony of the 2020 Olympics