Israel knocked out of soccer tourney, solidifies spots in windsurfing at Paris Games
Swimmers set new Israeli record in men’s 4×200m, qualify for final; Sharon Kantor in 2nd place after 7 iQFoil races; judoka Sagi Muki says he’s ‘proud of myself’ at his 3rd Olympics
Amy Spiro is a reporter and writer with The Times of Israel
The fourth day of competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics saw Israel’s soccer team knocked out of contention, a new Israeli record in swimming and a solid day of windsurfing for Israeli athletes following earlier weather delays.
The Israeli soccer team ended its Olympic bid at the Paris Games on Tuesday night, losing 0-1 to Japan during stoppage time and failing to advance to the knockout stage of the competition.
Ahead of the game, head coach Guy Luzon had told foreign media that he knew it would be an uphill battle to defeat the powerhouse Japan.
“We have to be tough without the ball and smart with the ball,” said Luzon. “Japan is one of the best teams in the tournament, they didn’t concede a goal until now and we know it will not be an easy game.”
Israel tied its first game against Mali 1-1 and then lost 2-4 to Paraguay, meaning it had to pull out a win against the undefeated Japan in order to stay alive in the tournament.
Earlier, the Israeli swimming team made history when it advanced to the final in the men’s 4×200m freestyle relay, setting a new Israeli record and marking the first time Israel qualified for an Olympic final in that event.
At the final, swimmers Bar Soloveychik, Tomer Frankel, Gal Cohen Groumi and Denis Loktev finished ninth and last in the race, with the UK taking gold, the US silver and Australia bronze. Frankel replaced Eitan Ben Shitrit in the final after Ben Shitrit was part of the foursome who swam in the qualifying heat. The event marked Israel’s first swimming final qualification at the Paris Olympics.
Separately, Frankel came second in his heat in the men’s 100m freestyle but 21st overall, not advancing to the semifinal. On Friday, Frankel will compete in the 100m butterfly.
After a shaky start for windsurfing with weather-related cancellations and delays, the men’s and women’s iQFoil events were back at full speed, with strong showings for both Israeli contenders.
In the women’s event, Sharon Kantor was ranked second overall, behind only the UK’s Emma Wilson, after the first seven races. In the men’s windsurfing, Tom Reuveny was ranked third place overall after six races, behind competitors from Poland and the Netherlands.
The sailors were originally slated to compete in 20 races overall before Friday’s medal races, but are now likely to have only 16 or 17 after Sunday’s events were canceled and Monday’s cut short due to low wind conditions.
In other weather-related woes, surfer Anat Lelior‘s round 3 on Monday was canceled in Tahiti after a storm churned up the waves to unsafe levels in the infamous Teahupo’o.
The men’s round 3 of surfing ended Monday with Australian Jack Robinson being rescued after nearly drowning during the competition, prompting Olympic officials to declare that the women’s round 3 would be postponed. Surfing events for Tuesday were also called off, with the upcoming schedule now up in the air.
And the men’s triathlon, which was slated to kick off Tuesday with Israeli Shachar Sagiv in contention, was delayed after high pollution levels were found in the Seine River — an embarrassment for French officials who have spent years and millions on cleaning up the river and months convincing athletes that it was safe. The triathlon was tentatively rescheduled for Wednesday.
Indoors and in stable weather conditions, judokas Sagi Muki and Gili Sharir ended their Olympic runs with early losses in the under-81kg and under-63kg weight classes, respectively.
Muki, making his third Olympic appearance, won his first match against Germany’s Timo Cavelius before losing to South Korea’s Lee Joon-hwan in the round of 16.
Minutes after the loss to Lee, still out of breath and sweating, Muki told Israel’s Sport 5 channel that “it was a really really difficult match, very intense, long.”
“I’m proud of my fighting. At the end of the day, that’s what I put in my head — to come, to fight, not to give up, not to deal with anything else around me, but to focus on the little things — step by step, match by match,” he said. “Overall, I’m proud of myself.”
The judoka noted that he has been training since he was 5 years old with coach Oren Smadga, the head coach of the men’s team whose son, Omer, was killed a month ago while fighting as an IDF reservist in Gaza.
“He’s like my second father,” Muki said of Smadga, noting that he came to Paris with the thought that “I’m fighting for Omer, and all the soldiers who are there bravely and heroically and who don’t give up — so it was important to me not to give up.”
Asked if he is setting his sights on the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, Muki, 32, didn’t rule anything out, but said he would like to devote more time to his family — including his baby, born last year, and second child on the way.
Sharir was knocked out of contention in her first match, losing to the reigning Olympic champion, France’s Clarisse Agbegnenou, in a tough bout that went into overtime.
“I do feel like I gave it my all, but a good match isn’t enough,” Sharir told Sport 5 a few minutes after the match. “I went in with the belief that I could do it, but that’s sports.”
Sharir said that she knew it was a tough match going in, against not just the Tokyo gold medalist but also a French athlete with huge support in the arena, but “my job as an athlete is to give everything I can.” The judoka said she was “so disappointed” that she couldn’t provide Israel with a win, but she was already looking ahead to the mixed team judo competition on Saturday.
Late Monday night, Badminton player Misha Zilberman lost 21-9 and 21-11 to Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen — the defending gold medalist from Tokyo. On Wednesday, Zilberman will play against Prince Dahal from Nepal in his final longshot bid to advance to the knockout stage.
Also Wednesday, judoka Maya Goshen will take to the mat in the women’s under-70kg weight class. Swimmer David Gerchik will compete in the men’s 200m backstroke and aim for a spot in the semifinal. Archer Mikaella Moshe — who ranked 18th after last week’s ranking round — will compete in the round of 32 against Romania’s Madalina Amaistroaie.
And Kantor and Reuveny are slated to sail again, weather permitting, while Shachar Sagiv is hoping the rescheduled triathlon will go ahead as planned.
