Israel at the 2010 Winter Olympics

Israel has participated at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, which occurred from February 12–28, 2010. This was the fifth time Israel took part in the Winter Olympics. The Israeli delegation consisted of alpine skier Mykhaylo Renzhyn and ice dancing duo Alexandra Zaretsky and Roman Zaretsky. Tamar Katz qualified, but the Israeli National Olympic Committee (NOC) did not permit her to compete. They did not bring home a medal during these Olympics.

The athletes entering the stadium during the opening ceremonies.

Israel at the
2010 Winter Olympics
IOC codeISR
NOCOlympic Committee of Israel
Websitewww.olympicsil.co.il (in Hebrew and English)
in Vancouver
Competitors3 in 2 sports
Flag bearer (opening)Alexandra Zaretsky
Flag bearer (closing)Mykhaylo Renzhyn
Medals
Gold
0
Silver
0
Bronze
0
Total
0
Winter Olympics appearances (overview)

Background

Israel participated in every Winter Olympics since the 1994 Olympics in Norway. The country has never won a Winter Olympics medal.[1]

Three athletes represented Israel in the 2010 Olympics: two in figure skating and one in alpine skiing.[2][3] Mykhaylo Renzhyn was Israel's first-ever Olympic alpine skiing competitor during the 2006 Winter Games.[4] Brother and sister ice skating duo Alexandra Zaretsky and Roman Zaretsky also competed for Israel at the 2006 Winter Olympics.[4] Alexandra Zaretsky was the flag bearer for the opening ceremonies and Mykhaylo Renzhyn had the honor for the closing ceremonies.[5][6]

Alpine skiing
Main article: Alpine skiing at the 2010 Winter Olympics

Mykhaylo Renzhyn was the lone Israeli alpiner skier. He competed in the men's giant slalom and men's slalom events. He trains in the United States.[7] Renzhyn competed in the men's giant slalom event on February 23, originally scheduled for the 21st. He finished in 55th place, out of 81 competitors that posted a time. He finished the first run in 1:25.77 and the second in 1:28.04, for a total of 2:53.81. He was 15.98 seconds behind the leader.[8] In the slalom event, Renzhyn finished 35th of 48 athletes that completed the event. He posted a time of 52.84 in his first run, and 56.07 in the second. He finished the event 9.59 seconds behind the leader.[9]

Athlete Event Run 1 Run 2 Total Rank
Mykhaylo Renzhyn Men's giant slalom 1:25.77 1:28.04 2:53.18 55
Men's slalom 52.84 56.07 1:48.91 35

Ice dancing
Main article: Figure skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics

Israel qualified one entrant in ladies singles and two in ice dancing, for a total of three athletes.[10] However, the Olympic Committee of Israel decided on January 24, 2010, to send only Alexandra Zaretsky and Roman Zaretsky in the ice dancing event, and not send Tamar Katz for the ladies event, because she failed to reach the criteria set by Israel NOC.[11] The Israeli NOC said during an interview that they set targets for their athletes ahead of time, and Katz was required to finish in the top 14 at the European Championships (she finished 21st). The Secretary General went on to say that while some countries' goal is to compete, Israel's goal is to win.[12]

The Zaretsky duo was coached by their mother in Israel. They did not get much ice time, and the arena was bombed multiple times. They later moved to the United States and were coached by Galit Chait.[13] They competed in the 2006 Winter Olympics, where they only had two weeks notice but finished 22nd.[14] The competition started with the compulsory dance, and the pair danced to "Tango Romantica", as the rest of the competitors did.[15] The romantic music can be awkward for sibling pairs, but the Zaretskys say they act to get through it.[16] They performed to "Hava Negillah" for the original dance and "Schindler’s List" for the free dance.[4] They performed music from Schindler's List for remembrance of the Holocaust, and to pay tribute to their family's history. "Hava Negillah" is more upbeat, and they hoped to have the audience clap along and get involved.[15] They placed tenth in each dance category, and finished tenth overall.[17]

Athlete(s) Event CD OD FD Total
Points Rank Points Rank Points Rank Points Rank
Alexandra Zaretsky / Roman Zaretsky Ice dancing 34.38 10 55.24 10 90.64 10 180.26 10

References
  1. "Israel at the Olympics". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  2. "2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver / Israel's team: Two skaters, a skier". Haaretz. January 25, 2010. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
  3. Israel at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games Archived 2011-08-13 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Jewish ice dancer from Michigan wins silver". jweekly.com. February 26, 2010. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  5. "Complete list of 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic flag-bearers". The Vancouver Sun. 12 February 2010. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  6. "The Flagbearers for the Vancouver 2010 Closing Ceremony" (PDF). International Olympic Committee. 28 February 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2010. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  7. Siegel, Masada (February 12, 2010). "Israelis are medal hopefuls". Jewish Independent. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  8. "Men's Giant Slalom Results". New York Times. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  9. "Men's Slalom Results". New York Times. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  10. "International Skating Union Communication No. 1589: Olympic Winter Games 2010 - Entries/Participation Single & Pair Skatng [sic] And Ice Dance". International Skating Union. September 28, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 4, 2009. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
  11. "Israel cedes Olympic ladies spot to Australia". Archived from the original on February 4, 2010.
  12. Siegel, Masada (January 29, 2010). "An Olympic Qualifier, But Not in Israel's Eyes". The New York Times. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  13. Guzzardo, Jamie (February 18, 2010). "Ice dancing team hopes to build winter legacy for Israel". CNN. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  14. McGrath, Charles (January 19, 2010). "Israel's Winter Athletes Come to U.S. Seeking Ice and Medals". New York Times. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  15. Krieger, Hilary Leila (February 19, 2010). "Zaretskys' Olympic Dance a Tribute to their Holocaust Losses". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  16. James, Susan Donaldson (February 19, 2010). "Brother-Sister Skating Pairs, Too Close for Comfort". ABC News. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  17. "Figure Skating at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games: Mixed Ice Dancing". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
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