How Did Jewish Athletes Do at the 2024 Paris Olympics?

By the time the Paris 2024 Olympic flame was extinguished on Sunday, August 11, Jewish and Israeli athletes came away with much to celebrate: Seven gold medals, six silver medals, and three bronze medals.

But even before the Olympic torch in Paris was lit on July 26, Israeli athletes faced death threats via email. Antisemitic crowd jeers at Jewish athletes and snubbed handshakes were expected.

The memory of the terror attacks against the Israeli Olympic team in the 1972 Munich games loomed large over all security measures. With unabashed anger being directed at the Jewish people worldwide since the Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023, this year’s Israeli Olympic team may have had the most intense security efforts in history.

Israel’s security agency Shin Bet, in collaboration with French authorities, launched an unprecedented security operation to protect the Israeli delegation​. Video surfaced of Israeli athletes being transported from the Olympic village to their events via a motorcade fit for a head of state—at least ten security vehicles. French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin assured the team that Israeli athletes would be protected 24 hours a day by France’s tactical police unit GIGN.

Days before the opening ceremony, Deputy of the French National Assembly Thomas Portes, from the La France Insoumise (LFI) party, declared that Israeli athletes were not welcome at the Paris Olympics due to Israel’s military actions in Gaza. The Palestinian Olympic Committee called for the International Olympic Committee to ban Israel from the Olympics altogether.

Less than a week before the Olympics, apparel maker Adidas was criticized for advertising a shoe design inspired by a style from the tragic 1972 Olympics. Adidas advertising campaign also included model Bella Hadid, who has made anti-Israel comments to her millions of followers for years. Adidas eventually pulled Hadid from the campaign.

During the Israeli Men’s Soccer match against Mali on July 24, people in the stands at Parc des Princes stadium booed the Israeli national anthem and any time the Israeli team touched the ball. Some protesters wore shirts and brought signs reading “Free Palestine.” On July 27, during the Israeli Men’s Soccer match against Paraguay, protesters wearing black masks in the stands chanted “Heil Hitler” and waved Palestinian flags, with some even performing Nazi salutes. The agitators were eventually ejected. On July 28, Israeli judoka Baruch Shmailov’s Moroccan opponent, Abderrahmane Boushita, refused to shake his hand after their match. His next opponent, Nurali Emomali of Tajikistan, didn’t shake hands either.

A photo of an Israeli Artistic Swimming team spelling out “Bring Them Home” circulated around social media, purporting to have taken place at the Paris Olympics. In reality, the photo was taken in Israel in November 2023.

Israel President Isaac Herzog and first lady Michal were at the opening ceremony. Team Israel arrived during the Opening Ceremony sharing a long bateaux mouche river boat with team Iceland and team Italy (many countries shared riverboats with other delegations). Israel’s flag bearers were swimmer Andrea Murez and judoka Peter Paltchik. Jewish athletes from Israel, U.S. and Australia won gold in several events. There were also Jewish athletes from Ukraine, New Zealand and Canada.

On August 3, Israeli windsurfer Tom Reuveny, 24, won gold in the Men’s iQFoil Windsurfing event in Marseille, almost 500 miles south of Paris. It was his first Olympic medal and also the first gold medal for Israel at the Paris Olympics. He was also one of the Israeli flag bearers (along with gymnast Romi Paritzki) at the closing ceremony.

Jewish sisters Jessica and Noémie Fox both won gold for Australia. Jessica, 30, won two gold medals, in Kayak Slalom and Canoe Slalom. She is one of the most decorated canoeists of all time, having won 30 gold medals across international competition. She was the flag-bearer for the Australian team during the opening ceremony. She previously won gold in Canoeing Slalom in Tokyo in 2021. Noémie, 27, won gold in the inaugural Kayak Cross event, her first Olympic medal. The siblings were both born in Marseille, France to Richard Fox and Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi. Richard is a ten-time world champion in Canoe Slalom, competing for Great Britain. Myriam competed in the same event, winning bronze for France at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

The last time two Jewish siblings each won gold in the same Olympics was In 1964 at the Tokyo Summer Olympics. That year, Jewish sisters Tamara Press (discus) and Irina Press (pentathlon) each won gold for the Soviet Union.

Jewish freestyle wrestler Amit Elor, 20, became the youngest American wrestler to win Olympic gold. In 2021, she was one day under the age limit at the Tokyo games. In Paris, the first-time Olympian won four matches en route to winning gold for team USA. Elor’s first match was an upset victory over the top-ranked reigning world champion, Buse Tosun Çavuşoğlu from Turkey. Elor won a decisive quarterfinal victory against 2023 European champion, Wiktoria Chołuj of Poland — the commentary team called the 8-0 victory “masterful.” In the semifinals, Elor beat North Korea’s PAK Sol Gum 10-0. In the final, she defeated Kyrgyzstan’s Meerim Zhumanazarova 3-0. “She’s going to be winning for a long time.”

Following the victory, she posted a video to social media while wearing her gold medal, and said, “80 years ago, my grandparents survived the Holocaust, but antisemitism is still there. My grandparents won, I won. Humanity will win. Never again.” She has since deleted the post from Instagram.

Although she competed for team USA, the day after her gold medal win, Elor told the media, “I heard last night that almost the whole country [of Israel] was watching me and that it was on all the news networks, and I just can’t believe all the love I received. She told Ynet, “If my wrestling at the Olympics can bring even just a little joy in Israel, it will make all the hard work and sacrifices worth it and extra special. I am an American proudly wrestling for the U.S. but in my heart, I am also wrestling for Israel.” Elor is the daughter of Israeli immigrants, currently residing in the Northern California city of Pleasant Hill. She wrestles for Diablo Valley College.

Jewish racewalker Jemima Montag of Australia was the only other Jewish athlete besides Jessica Fox to win two medals. Montag won two bronze medals: the 20-Kilometer Race Walk and Marathon Mixed Relay. She is the first Australian woman in 52 years to win two medals in track and field at the same Olympics.

Paltchik won a bronze medal in Judo for team Israel. As he walked off the mats, he dropped to his knees with his head in his hands. He stood, wiping tears from his eyes, to take a bow as his name was read by the announcer at the Grand Palais Éphémère in Paris. Paltchik embraced his coach Oren Smadja and together they went to the floor, both in profuse tears — he dedicated his performance victory to Smadja’s son Omer, who was killed by mortar fire in Gaza on June 21 while serving in the Israel Defense Forces.

Israeli judoka Inbar Lanir won a silver medal while wearing a yellow hair tie in homage to the hostages in Gaza. She took to Instagram to share her reflections: “The yellow rubber band with which I collected my hair is a symbol of the additional and important meaning of representing the country today, and it is the greatest privilege I have received. I’m so waiting for them to come back🎗️I dedicate this medal to all the people of Israel, to those who lost their lives and to those who have lost loved ones, to the injured physically and mentally, to the families of the kidnapped, to each and every person who has the amazing privilege of calling themselves Israelis. There is no better country than this.”

Although they did not medal, Israeli Artistic Swimmers Shelly Bobritsky and Ariel Nassee also gave a subtle recognition to the hostages in Gaza. They competed in the duet division while wearing yellow ribbons in their hair.

Bobritsky told Israel Sport5, “We always give our whole heart and soul in the routine, and when we don’t get what we wanted and hoped for so much, it hurts our heart,” she says. “But I know that we really gave it our all … for the country, for the people, and we are really proud of ourselves … we’re glad that we had the privilege to make the voice of the beautiful and strong Israeli nation heard.”

Here’s how Jewish and Israeli athletes fared at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics:

Jewish Gold Medalists: 7 medals

Tom Reuveny (Israel) — Men’s iQFoil Windsurfing

Jackie Dubrovich (USA) — Women’s Foil Team

Maia Weintraub (USA) — Women’s Foil Team

Amit Elor (USA) — Women’s Freestyle Wrestling 68-kg

Jessica Fox (Australia) — 2 Gold Medals: Women’s Kayak Slalom, Women’s Canoe Slalom

Noémie Fox (Australia) — Women’s Kayak Cross

Jewish Silver Medalists: 7 medals

Sharon Kantor (Israel) — Women’s iQFoil Windsurfing

Artem Dolgopyat (Israel) — Men’s Artistic Gymnastics Floor Exercise

Raz Hershko (Israel) — Women’s Over 78-kg Judo

Inbar Lanir (Israel) — Women’s Under 78-kg Judo

Sienna Green (Australia) — Women’s Water Polo

Israel Rhythmic Gymnastics Team (Israel) — Women’s Rhythmic All-Around Group

Team Members: Shani Bakanov, Adar Friedmann, Romi Paritzki, Ofir Shaham, Diana Svertsov

Claire Weinstein (USA) — Women’s 4×200-meter Freestyle Swimming Relay

Jewish Bronze Medalists: 3 medals

Nick Itkin (USA) — Men’s Individual Foil

Sarah Levy (USA) — Women’s Rugby Sevens

Jemima Montag (Australia) — Two Bronze Medals: 20-Kilometer Race Walk, Marathon Mixed Relay

Peter Paltchik (Israel) — Men’s Judo

Non-Medalists

Josh Katz (Australia) — Men’s Judo

Alexandra Kiroi-Bogatyreva (Australia) — Women’s Gymnastics (Rhythmic)

Jessica Weintraub (Australia) — Women’s Gymnastics (Rhythmic)

Sam Schachter (Canada) — Men’s Beach Volleyball

Shaul Gordon (Canada) — Men’s Fencing (Sabre)

Lonah Chemtai Salpeter (Israel) — Women’s Marathon – Placement: 9th place

Mikhail Yakovlev (Israel) — Track Cycling (Men’s Sprint Qualifying)

Ashlee Bond (Israel) — Women’s Equestrian (Jumping Team Final)

Shelly Bobritsky (Israel) — Artistic Swimming (Duet)

Ariel Nassee (Israel) — Artistic Swimming (Duet)

Ron Polonsky (Israel) — Swimming (Men’s 100-meter Breaststroke)

Israel’s Men’s Soccer Team — (did not advance out of the group stage).

Jo Aleh (New Zealand) — Sailing (Two-Woman 470 Dinghy)

Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) — Tennis (Women’s Singles)