Israeli cyclist wows in opening race, taekwondo fighter ousted in 1st Paris match
Mikhail Yakovlev sets brief Olympic record before being knocked out in 1/8 finals of men’s sprint; sobbing Avishag Semberg says she had dreamed of dedicating medal to hostages
Amy Spiro is a reporter and writer with The Times of Israel
The 12th day of sporting events at the 2024 Paris Olympics saw an overwhelmingly strong start for an Israeli cyclist and a disappointing early finish for a returning taekwondo medalist.
While Israeli cyclist Mikhail Yakovlev started out with a shocking but briefly lived new Olympic record, he ended the day being knocked out of competition in the men’s sprint event in the 1/8 finals repechage round.
In the qualifying round, Yakovlev, 23, briefly set an Olympic record with a finishing time of 9.152 seconds. His record held for less than a minute, however, before it was overtaken first by Australia’s Matthew Richardson, who finished in 9.091, and then by the Netherlands’ Harrie Lavreysen with a time of 9.088; Yakovlev finished that race in third place overall.
In his first head-to-head match in the 1/32 finals, Yakovlev defeated Malaysia’s Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom, and then in the 1/16 final, he beat Suriname’s Jair Tjon En Fa.
The cyclist then lost to the UK’s Hamish Turnbull in the 1/8 finals of the men’s sprint at the 2024 Paris Olympics by 0.001 seconds, moving to the repechage round, where he finished second in his heat, knocking him out of the competition.
But his Olympic journey is not over yet: Yakovlev is slated to race in the men’s keirin event, which begins Saturday.
Yakovlev, a native of Moscow, competed for Russia until 2022, when he and his family moved to Israel and he gained Israeli citizenship. The Russian Olympic Committee tried to block him from competing for Israel at the Olympics, but the IOC cleared the way for him to represent the Jewish state following a waiting period.
The cyclist had been outspoken on social media against Russia’s war on Ukraine, and in August 2022 — after moving to Israel — he posted a selfie online with a backdrop of the Israeli and Ukrainian flags side by side.
Speaking to Israel’s Sport 5 broadcaster after his last race on Wednesday, Yakovlev said he was proud to wear Israel’s flag on his chest.
“It means a lot for me, I feel proud to represent this flag, this country, the whole nation,” he said. “This is a most important moment for me.”
Meanwhile, Israeli taekwondo athlete Avishag Semberg — who won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics — had a disappointing early finish when she was knocked out following her first match on Wednesday.
Semberg, 22, lost 2-1 to Saudi Arabia’s Dunya Abutaleb in the women’s under-49kg weight class round of 16 match. Abutaleb is the first Saudi woman ever to earn a direct qualification for the Olympics.
Minutes after the loss, a sobbing Semberg told Israeli media that she was crushed by her performance.
“I’m so disappointed in myself, I wanted to do so much,” she told Sport5. “I felt as ready as possible… I wanted it not just for me but for everyone.”
The athlete said that she “already had ideas in my head of who I would dedicate [a medal] to, to the hostages… I wanted to win so much, and it made me function not calmly, how I’m used to, but under pressure, which isn’t how I usually function.”
Semberg said that “in my heart, all I wanted was to hear ‘Hatikva,’ that’s what was in my heart. I failed.”
Meanwhile, due to low winds, all the races scheduled for Wednesday’s kitesurfing events were canceled — and decisions for the medal series were made based on the races already completed.
In the women’s Forumula Kite race, Israeli Gal Zukerman was ranked 10th overall following six races, just squeaking into the last spot in Thursday’s semifinal race, where she’ll battle for a longshot spot in the final.
In the men’s event, Dor Zarka finished 13th overall following seven races, ending his Olympic run. Up to 16 races were supposed to have been held in each event, but most were delayed and then canceled.
In addition, the weather conditions led to the cancellation of Wednesday’s scheduled medal race in the mixed dinghy sailing event — featuring Israeli duo Nitai Hasson and Noa Lasry. The race has been rescheduled for Thursday.
Also Thursday, rhythmic gymnast Daria Atamanov will compete throughout the day in the individual qualifying round, aiming for one of the top 10 spots to advance to Friday’s final. Atamanov’s coaching team includes Linoy Ashram, the Israeli gold medalist from the Tokyo Games.
