Israeli jumper wins bronze at European Indoor Championships Triple jumper Hanna Knyazyeva-Minenko takes third place with a 14.49-meter jump that set a new Israeli indoor record, marks Israel’s first women’s medal for indoor triple jump • Knyazyeva-Minenko: How symbolic it happened on International Women’s Day. Ynet. Photo credit: Getty Images
Israel’s Outstanding Young Athletes
Big congratulations to Israelis Alex Shatilov and Eyal Glazer!
The gymnasts pose with their awards from a competition in Baku — Alex won gold in the floor event and Eyal won in rings!
Linoy Ashram, 15, started competing in rhythmic gymnastics internationally in 2011 and won the all-around gold at the 2014 Junior Grand Prix Final in Innsbruck, Austria. She is a two-time Israeli Junior National Champion and earned bronze medals in clubs and ribbon at the 2014 European Junior Championships, qualifying her for the Israeli delegation to the Youth Olympics Games.
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Tzuf Feldon, 16, is considered Israel’s leading junior gymnast. Last summer she placed first in uneven bars, beam and floor events in the national junior championships (which were interrupted briefly by an incoming rocket from Gaza). She’s competed in Hungary and Czechoslovakia and is a likely future Olympian.
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Yshai Oliel on the tennis court.
Yshai Oliel, 14, captured two Junior Orange Bowl tennis titles in two years. He bested Taiwan’s Chen-jui Ho in the finals of the international tournament in Florida on December 23 last year, becoming only the ninth male in the tourney’s 53-year history to win both the Boys 12 and Boys 14 title. He’s likely to be Israel’s next Dudi Sela or Andy Ram.
Ido Shkuri, 17, is an MVP guard on Israel’s national basketball wheelchair team for athletes under 22. Ido was an avid soccer and tennis player until four years ago, when surgery to remove a tumor in his pelvis left him unable to walk without crutches. His talent for wheelchair basketball was discovered at the ILAN Foundation for Handicapped Children’s Ramat Gan sports facility. In September 2014, he was part of Israel’s first delegation to the European Championship team of young disabled athletes, held in Spain.
Yulia Gordichuk.
Yulia Gordichuk, 16, is a Paralympic swimmer with a prosthetic leg. A panel at the Wingate Institute for Physical Education and Sports chose her “Most Promising Young Athlete” for 2014, calling her an outstanding example of an accomplished athlete with a disability. Yulia placed fourth in the 400-meter freestyle in this year’s European Championships in the Netherlands, assuring her a spot on Israel’s Paralympic squad.
Marc Hinnawi – Center
Marc Hinnawi, 17, set a new record for his age group when he won a gold medal in swimming at the 2013 Youth Olympic Games in Holland. He finished the 400-meter freestyle heat in 3:57.73. Marc, an Arab-Israeli from Jaffa, is expected to compete at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
Avital Boruchovsky (Photo: Przemysław Jahr/Wikimedia Commons)
17, became the 2014 European Youth U18 Chess Champion after winning a four-hour game against a Spanish opponent last October. The 12th-grader from Rehovot won both the 2012 European Individual Chess Championship and the 2013 European Club Cup, and was crowned the youngest Israeli Grand Master in January 2014. He plays four hours a day at the Kfar Saba Chess Club.
Thanks to Israel21c and Israel Hayom
Israel’s Outstanding Young Athletes
