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Illinois Quartet To Lead TEAM USA At 18th Maccabiah Israel Games
By
Sara Feinstein Ramat Gan, Israel ---- July 10, 2009 ...... Ron Carner, General Chairman for the 18th Maccabiah USA Organizing Committee has announced the names of the Flag and Banner Bearers for the Opening Ceremony on Monday, July, 13. In front of the USA Maccabiah Team, the US Ambassador to Israel James B. Cunningham and Maccabi World Union leaders, it was announced that four Jewish athletes, all from Illinois will lead the US Delegation into Ramat Gan Stadium at the world’s third largest international athletic event. An alumnus of University of Illinois, Lindsey Durlacher of Buffalo Grove, IL, and currently a resident of Colorado Springs, CO is a member of the 18th Maccabiah Open Judo Team. He will carry the American flag and lead the entire USA Delegation into Ramat Gan stadium on Monday evening. Ranking is number two at 55 kg on the USA Team; Durlacher is a seven-time Maccabiah Champion in wrestling, finished second in the U.S. Nationals in 2007, 2008 and 2009 amongst multiple placements. The 18th Maccabiah will be the first time that Durlacher participates as a member of the Open Judo Team. Joining Durlacher, leading in the US Delegation will be David Sender of Arlington Heights, IL; Aaron Cohen of Buffalo Grove, IL; and Gillian Schwartz, originally of Evanston, Il. David Sender a Gymnast, and member of the U.S. World Championship Team in 2006, is a recent graduate of Stanford University. Amongst his many accomplishments, Sender recorded a career-best All-Around score of 55.55 at a tri-meet against Penn State and Iowa during his Junior year. Aaron Cohen, also of Buffalo Grove, a Judo athlete, is a member of the 2009, 2005 and 2003 World Championship Teams. Judo has always been a part of his life. Cohen’s Father Irwin competed at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich and his uncle Steve [Cohen] was a member of the 1988 Olympic Team. Having served as an alternate to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team, Cohen moved up to 90 kg in 2009, which earned him a berth on the 2009 World Championship Team and he also took the Gold at the USA Judo Senior National Championship. Gillian Schwartz, of Evanston, IL, one of the USA’s elite pole vaulters, will join Sender and Cohen as they carry the USA Banner into the stadium for the 18th Maccabiah Games. An all-American at Duke University excelling in high jump and hurdles, she set the outdoor pole vault record of 14-2 as well as the indoor record of 13-5 ¼. Schwartz is a two-time Olympian athlete, competing in Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008. She is currently competing at an international Track & Field competition in Madrid, but will join Team USA to march into the Opening Ceremony Monday evening and compete in the Maccabiah. Maccabi USA / Sports for Israel (MUSA) has an extensive history of enriching Jewish lives through athletic, cultural and educational programs. The organization is the official sponsor of the United States Team to the World Maccabiah Games, the Pan American Maccabi Games and the Maccabi competitions in Europe and Australia, as well as a co-founder of the JCC Maccabi Games for teens in North America. As the official Maccabi representative in the U.S., Maccabi USA supports Jewish athletic endeavors, enhanced by cultural and educational activities in the United States, Israel and throughout the Diaspora. MUSA develops, promotes and supports international, national and regional athletic-based activities and facilities. They strive to provide Jewish athletes the world over the opportunity to share their heritage and customs in competitive athletic settings. MUSA supports programs that embody the Maccabi ideals of Jewish continuity, Zionism and excellence in sport. “Now more than ever, we need to get involved and commit to building a proud Jewish Identity among our young people in the U.S., Israel and the Diaspora,” stated Ron Carner, General Chairman, USA Maccabiah Team. “The Maccabiah (Games) is not just about sports, but about providing for these young people a Jewish awareness of who they are, where they come from and where they are going.” The World Maccabiah Games are a quadrennial event that takes place in Israel. The 18th World Maccabiah Games, scheduled for July 12 – 23, 2009 will be the world’s third largest international athletic competition. Over 7000 of the world’s best Jewish athletes from six continents and over 60 countries will compete at the Games. This year’s
Maccabiah kicks off with an opening ceremony at the Ramat Gan
Stadium on Monday night, July 13. Three time Gold medal Olympian
swimmer Jason Lezak of the US team, will light the flame. As the world’s
third largest sports event after the Olympics, the Maccabiah Games
plays host to 3000 junior Maccabiah athletes, aged 15 -18; 5,000
open athletes, 2,000 masters and Paralympics. Sports for
which competitors will be going for Gold include: artistic gymnastics,
badminton, baseball, basketball, beach volleyball, bridge, cricket,
chess, fencing, golf, gymnastics, handball, half-marathon, field
hockey, judo, karate, netball, lawn bowls, rowing, rugby, squash,
soccer, softball, swimming, table-tennis, taekwondo, tennis, triathlon,
track and field, ten-pin bowling, volleyball, water polo, wrestling
and windsurfing. The 18th Maccabiah Games will be utilizing powerful Web 2.0 new media social networking to connect in real time with millions in Israel and worldwide. There are Twitter channels: wmu, maccabi, israelmaccabiah and #maccabiah and two official Facebook groups. A state of the art Web 2.0 Maccabiah Web site is expected to be launched within the next 48 hours.
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