Israeli swimmers say high security lets them focus on competing at Paris Olympics
Anastasia Gorbenko says she would ‘love the sport to be only about swimming and nothing about political stuff’; Aviv Barzelay: I try ‘to put all of the bad things behind me’
Israeli swimmers at the Paris Olympics said Monday that they feel safe and able to focus on sport despite tight security around them.
The Israelis are being protected around the clock by elite French security agents as well as Shin Bet officers accompanying the delegation from Israel.
“We have a lot of security and I feel safe and the atmosphere is crazy, it’s great,” said Aviv Barzelay after her heat in the women’s 100m backstroke at the La Defense Arena in Paris.
The Paris’ prosecutors office said Sunday that police were investigating death threats received by three Israeli athletes, while last week Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz warned of a potential Iranian-backed plot to target Israeli athletes and tourists.
In a statement Monday, the Olympic Committee of Israel said its athletes refused to be cowed by such threats, and were focusing on sports, not politics at the Games.
“Unfortunately, a wave of hate and threats is taking place against our athletes,” the OCI said in a statement to reporters, thanking Israeli and French authorities for “working tirelessly to ensure our safety.”
“Our response will be given on the sporting field, and the Israeli delegation will continue to represent Israeli and Olympic values with pride, dedication and fairness,” the statement added.
At the 1972 Munich Olympics, 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were murdered by Palestinian terrorists in an attack on the Olympic village.
“We have pretty tough security so I’m really thankful for their job and what they are doing for us, that they are here and making a safe environment for us,” said Israeli swimmer Anastasia Gorbenko following her 400m individual medley swim. “I would love the sport to be only about swimming and nothing about political stuff and about the country situation.”
Gorbenko, whose parents were born in Ukraine, added: “Palestinians, Israelis, Arabs, Muslims, Jewish, it doesn’t matter. We are all here to do sports, that’s what’s special about the Games.”
While the Israeli delegation has faced calls for it to be banned from the Games amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Olympic authorities have long maintained that Israeli athletes can compete without any restrictions. The athletes have faced some limited protests and boos during games and matches, but the provocations so far have largely not interfered with the proceedings.
“I’m trying to put all of the bad things behind me, not focus on it now,” said Barzelay, who added that she was able to go through her routines as normal. The security “try to stay away as [much as] possible… they are obviously with us all the time but they give us the space we need to prepare ourselves.”
Barzelay said that members of the Israeli delegation are “all going around the village, we’ve seen other athletes,” she said.
“We communicate with everyone and we try to be nice because we’re good at being nice,” she said. “I think we’re very friendly and we’re not here to make anyone hate us. We’re just here to be ourselves and have fun.”
