2005 Maccabiah Games

The 2005 Maccabiah Games (), held in Israel, were the 17th incarnation of the 'Jewish Olympics.' They attracted the largest attendance of any Maccabiah Games, including more than 900 representatives from the United States, almost 500 from Australia, and more than 2,000 from Israel, bringing the total participants to more than 7,700 from 55 countries.
Israel ended the games at the top of the medal count with 228 gold medals. The United States was second with 71 gold medals, while Russia came in third with 15.
History.
The Maccabiah Games were first held in 1932. In 1961, they were declared a "Regional Sports Event" by, and under the auspices and supervision of, the International Olympic Committee.
Selected results.
Vadim Gutzeit of Ukraine, an Olympic gold medal winner in team sabre, won gold medals in individual and team sabre. Two-time Olympic gold medal winner Sergey Sharikov of Russia won the silver medal in sabre. In fencing, two-time Pan American Games gold medalist Dan Kellner won the silver medal in foil for the US. 1999 US Junior Champion and 2001 NCAA Fencing Champion Soren Thompson won a team silver medal in epee for the US.
In women's tennis, Sharon Fichman of Canada won the gold medal at the age of 14, and also won a bronze medal in the women’s doubles, and a silver medal in mixed doubles.
In women's basketball, Shay Doron, who two years later signed with the WNBA New York Liberty, led the USA to a 5–0 record and a gold medal, and was selected Maccabiah MVP.
In squash, Brian L. Roberts, the Chairman and CEO of Comcast Corporation, won a gold medal with the US team in his fourth Maccabiah.
In soccer, Jonathan Bornstein, Benny Feilhaber, Leo Krupnik, Matt Reiswerg, and Kevin Friedland led the US men's open soccer to their best finish ever with a silver medal. The US lost to gold medal winner Israel, which played with their U-20 National Team.
In karate the US Men's open team took several gold and silver medals. The youth team took one silver and one bronze. In judo, 17-year-old Alice Schlesinger won a gold medal by defeating the world champion and former Israeli Daniella Krakower in the final.
Sports.
The sports featured at the 2005 Maccabiah Games are listed below.
Participating communities.
Not all Jewish communities participated in the 2005 Maccabiah, as has been the case since 1950. Jewish communities in Arab countries (Morocco, Tunisia, etc.), as well as the community in Iran, did not send delegations. The number in parentheses indicates the number of participants that community contributed.