Associated Press predicts an historic Olympics for Israel, with seven medals. Israel has won nine medals in its entire Olympics history. This year, Israel has sent its largest delegation ever to an Olympics — 90, compared to its previous high of 47 at the 2016 Games. With sports betting now legal in Colorado, you can participate in the Olympics in a new — by playing the odds in favor of Israeli athletes.
If you’re looking for picks, ere are the Israelis on the AP list:
- Artem Dolgopyat — Gold in men’s gymnastics, floor exercise
An artistic gymnast, Dolgopyat won the gold medal at the 2020 European Championships in the floor exercise and sliver medals at the 2017 and 2019 World Championships of that exercise.
Events competitions start July 24 with medal events July 27-28.
- Lonah Chemtai Salpeter — Silver in women’s marathon
Chemtai Salpeter won the 10,000 metres 2018 European Athletics Championship. Her personal best time for the marathon is 2:17:45, which when she ran it in 2020 made her the 6th-fastest woman in the marathon in history. She placed first in the Tokyo Marathon this year.
The marathon is Aug. 7.
- Sagi Muki — Silver in men’s 81 kg judo
The half-middleweight judoka is a two-time Israeli national champion, a 2019 world champion, and the 2017 and 2018 European champion.
He was expected to medal at the 2016 Rio Games but was hampered by an injury.
The men’s under-81 kg competition is on July 27.
- Team Israel — Bronze in baseball
In 2017, Israel’s national baseball team surprised observers by placing sixth at the World Baseball Classic, an international tournament of the worldbest teams. In 2019, Team Israel won the European Baseball Championship to qualify for the Olympics.
The current roster is anchored by de facto captain Danny Valencia — who has Cuban and Jewish heritage and hit 96 home runs over eight Major League Baseball seasons — and Ian Kinsler, a former four-time MLB All-Star.
Only six teams are in play (South Korea, Japan, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and the US), so Team Israel has a chance of snagging a medal.
The baseball tournament runs July 28-Aug. 7. Israel’s first game is against the US.
- Linoy Ashram — Bronze in women’s rhythmic gymnastics, all-around
The Mizrahi and Sephardi gymnast won in the individual rhythmic category at the European Championships in 2020 — the first athlete to take the gold medal in decades who was not from a former Soviet country or Bulgaria.
Ashram has many firsts for her country: She’s the first rhythmic gymnast from Israel to win an individual all-around medal at the World Championships, the first to win gold in the World Cup series and the first to win a European All-Around title.
The rhythmic gymnastics competition takes place Aug. 6-8.
- Team Israel — Bronze in women’s rhythmic gymnastics, group category
The team late last month won gold at the World Acrobatics Championships in Geneva. Michal Stratievsky, Yarden Ron and Tamar Stoller received a score of 28.450 points, beating out trios from Russian and Portugal to take first place. The athletes are all between the ages of 13 and 20 years old.
- Katy Spychakov — Bronze in women’s windsurfing.
The windsurfer won the 2016 RS:X Class Youth Female World Championships and the 2019 U21 Women’s RS:X World Championships. She won a silver medal in the Women’s 2019 RS:X World Championships.
