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Hello, and happy Olympics opening ceremony day! The 2024 Paris Olympics officially begin today with the aquatic opening ceremony in the Seine River, though competition in several events began earlier this week.
Here at JTA News, we’ve got all the Jewish Olympics coverage you need — from Israel’s return to Olympic soccer after a half-century to a growing list of Jewish Olympians and your guide to all the Jewish and Israeli athletes’ competitions.
Meet Australia’s Jewish Olympic flag bearer
Eddie Ockenden and Jessica Fox pose with the Australian flag after being named flag bearers ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, July 24, 2024, in Paris. (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Canoe paddler Jessica Fox had already built a resume most athletes can only dream of.
The 30-year-old Aussie is a four-time Olympian who has won four Olympic medals, including taking the gold in a competition she helped open to women at the most recent games. Fox won her record fourteenth world title last year. For many, it cemented her legacy as the greatest individual slalom paddler of all time.
Now, she will add onto her legacy: She was named one of Australia’s two flag bearers for today’s opening ceremony in Paris. Getting the honor was “probably the greatest moment of my career,” said Fox, who was born in Marseille, France, and moved to Australia at age 4.
“Obviously that French connection is very strong and it’s such a wonderful, special, unique moment to be able to bring my two cultures together: the French, the Australian,” Fox said, according to Australia’s ABC News. She will be joined by Australian field hockey player and five-time Olympian Eddie Ockenden.
Fox’s role means a Jewish Olympian who isn’t Israeli will wave their country’s flag for the second consecutive Summer Olympics. Basketball great and five-time Olympian Sue Bird earned the honor for the U.S. delegation at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Click here to read more about Fox — and her family’s Olympic dominance.
Olympics Scorecard
Here’s a quick rundown of Jewish and Israeli Olympians’ results and schedule as the Paris games get fully underway.
⚽ Israel’s soccer team played Mali on Wednesday, ending in a 1-1 draw. Israel faces Paraguay Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.
🏹 Israeli archers Mikaella Moshe and Roy Dror competed in the individual ranking rounds for women’s and men’s archery, respectively, on Thursday. Moshe placed 18th out of 64 while setting a personal record. Dror finished 42nd.
🔜 Look out for U.S. fencer Eli Dershwitz, Israeli gold medal-winning gymnast Artem Dolgopyat and Fox, the Aussie paddler, all of whom are in action Saturday.
🗓️ On Sunday, Israeli gymnast Lihie Raz, Israeli fencer Yuval Freilich, U.S. swimmer Claire Weinstein, U.S. rugby player Sarah Levy and Canadian beach volleyballer Sam Schachter are all competing.
We compiled a full competition schedule for all the Jewish and Israeli Olympians in Paris — check it out.
Sarah Levy, U.S. rugby player, is keeping up her Jewish family’s tradition on the pitch
Sarah Levy during a pre-Olympics scrimmage with Ireland, July 18, 2024, in Tours, France. (Alex Ho/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
In 2014, Sarah Levy was a first-year student at Northeastern University in search of an extracurricular to fill her schedule and help her make friends. She signed up for rugby tryouts.
Fast forward to this weekend, and Levy is making her Olympics debut as a member of the U.S. women’s rugby team.
Levy, who grew up as an active member of San Diego’s Jewish community, said she was hooked on the sport after her first game. She also comes from a long line of rugby players: Her great-grandfather famously vacillated over whether to play rugby for South Africa on Yom Kippur.
“After that first game, it was done — I couldn’t not play,” Levy told me. “I just fell in love with it right away. My dad had played growing up, so I always had a draw to it. But I didn’t know women could play until I got to college and there was a team there.”
Halftime report
DEBUNKED. A video went viral this week purportedly showing a Hamas operative threatening that “rivers of blood will flow through the streets of Paris” because France allowed Israeli athletes to participate in the Olympics, causing alarm for many. But researchers at Microsoft have said the video is a product of a Russian disinformation and propaganda campaign.
ADIDAS PUNTS ON ITS NEW SHOE CAMPAIGN. Following backlash to its shoe campaign inspired by the 1972 Munich Olympics, where 11 Israelis were murdered, Adidas has removed the footwear ads featuring Palestinian-American model and activist Bella Hadid. Adidas also issued an apology to Hadid, who had reportedly been considering suing the company over the debacle.
A LIFE-SAVER. A group of Jewish Boy Scouts recently completed a 100-mile hike in New Mexico — undoubtedly an athletic feat — but that’s not why their story went viral. On the flight home, members of the group jumped into action when an elderly passenger went into cardiac arrest, performing CPR and saving his life.
TRADE SHOW. The MLB trade deadline is rapidly approaching, with a flurry of activity expected right up until the cutoff on Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET. We recommend keeping an eye on ace baseball reporters Jeff Passan of ESPN, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Los Angeles Angels outfielder Kevin Pillar is considered a likely trade candidate, while Rowdy Tellez of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Joc Pederson of the Arizona Diamondbacks are both playing for middling teams that are expected to make deals in the coming days.
BACK TO SCHOOL. Recent MLB draftee Ryan Prager, who was selected 81st overall by the Los Angeles Angels, announced that he would be returning to Texas A&M, where he led the Aggies to a second-place finish in this year’s NCAA Division I College Baseball World Series.
Jews in sports to watch this weekend (all times ET)
⚾️ IN BASEBALL…
Dean Kremer starts for the Baltimore Orioles Saturday at 4:05 p.m. as they take on the San Diego Padres. Joc Pederson and the Arizona Diamondbacks host Rowdy Tellez and the Pittsburgh Pirates in a three-game series this weekend, while Kevin Pillar and the Los Angeles Angels host Zack Gelof and the Oakland Athletics in a four-game set that began Thursday. Spencer Horwitz — who is hitting a stellar .309 on the season — and the Toronto Blue Jays face the Texas Rangers.
⚽️ IN SOCCER…
The Leagues Cup begins this weekend, as teams from MLS face each other and their counterparts in Liga MX, Mexico’s pro soccer league. Tai Baribo and the Philadelphia Union host Charlotte F.C. Saturday at 8 p.m. — though Charlotte’s Liel Abada is in Paris with Israel’s soccer team — while Daniel Edelman and the New York Red Bulls face Toronto F.C. at the same time.
⛳️ IN GOLF…
Daniel Berger, David Lipsky, Ben Silverman and Max Greyserman are all competing in the PGA Tour’s 3M Open this weekend in Minnesota.
🏎️ IN RACING…
It’s the final Formula One race before the annual summer break, and Lance Stroll will be on the grid for Aston Martin in the Belgian Grand Prix Sunday at 9 a.m. The race is a homecoming of sorts for Stroll, who has Belgian ancestry through his mother.
Is reading news an Olympic event?
Who knew there could be so much Jewish sports news in one week?! Thanks for reading — we’ll see you next week! Au revoir!
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