London Kvelling is a series of articles profiling Jewish and/or Israeli athletes at the2012 Summer Olympics, which begins in London on July 27. Update: Watch Aly in her winning "Hava Nagila" routine by following this link. Alexandra Raisman is heading to London as part of a team, but if she winds up standing out on her own, her Judaism will play a role. The 18-year-old native of Needham, MA, is one of the five artistic gymnasts who will represent the US in the women's team competition in London, as she'll look …More

London Kvelling is a series of articles profiling Jewish and/or Israeli athletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics, which begins in London on July 27. While judo has been Israel's best Olympic sport, the mat hasn't been the country's most friendly Olympic venue. The open water is. Judo accounts for three of the seven medals Israel has won at the Summer Olympics in 14 appearances, but the other four have all come on the open water. Israelis have medaled in canoeing, sailing and sailboarding events at the Olympics, …More

London Kvelling is a series of articles profiling Jewish and/or Israeli athletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics, which begins in London on July 27. In 2008, Nimrod Shapira Bar-Or broke new ground, so to speak, for Israeli swimmers when he became the first Israeli to compete in an Olympic swimming semifinal, the men's 200-meter freestyle. Four years later, the 23-year-old Jerusalem native is back to see how much further he can go. Shapira Bar-Or is one of five Israelis set to compete in swimming events at the 2012 …More

London Kvelling is a series of articles profiling Jewish and/or Israeli athletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics, which begins in London on July 27. Four years ago in Beijing, Alexander Shatilov delivered the best performance ever by an Israeli gymnast at the Olympic games when he placed eighth in the men's floor exercise. Next week, he'll look to take it a step further, and he'll have company. The 25-year-old Shatilov, who was born in Uzbekistan but now lives and trains in Tel Aviv, headlines the Israeli …More

London Kvelling is a series of articles profiling Jewish and/or Israeli athletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics, which begins in London on July 27. Inna Yoffe and Anastasia Gloushkov are hoping the third time is the charm. The Israeli synchronized swimmers—both of whom were born in the former Soviet Union—are back for another attempt at the Olympics after placing 15th at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. It will be their third time representing Israel on the world's biggest stage, having made their …More

London Kvelling is a series of articles profiling Jewish and/or Israeli athletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics, which begins in London on July 27. Four years ago, Neta Rivkin was the youngest member of Israel's Olympic team, as the 17-year-old from Petah Tikva placed 14th in the individual rhythmic gymnastics competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. This summer, Rivkin is a seasoned international performer who will look to bring home Israel's first gymnastics medal of any kind. Now 21, Rivkin is one …More

London Kvelling is a series of articles profiling Jewish and/or Israeli athletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics, which begins in London on July 27. Question: What Olympic event is Israel the best at? Answer: Judo. It may sound like an awful pun, but it's actually true. Of the seven medals won by Israeli athletes in 14 trips to the summer Olympics, three have been in the Japanese martial art, tying sailing/sailboarding as Israel's strongest Olympic event. In fact, Israeli judoka (judo players) were the first …More

London Kvelling is a series of articles profiling Jewish and/or Israeli athletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics, which begins in London on July 27. You can call it "athletics," as it's officially known at the Olympics and other international competitions. Or, you can call it "track and field," as you may be more used to from your school days. Either way, three Israeli athletes are heading to London in search of medals, including one who was only given the okay to compete this past March. Donald Sanford, who …More

London Kvelling is a series of articles profiling Jewish and/or Israeli athletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics, which begins in London on July 27. For Sergei Richter, the road to the Olympics started in an Israeli Defense Forces youth program. Richter, the first Israeli to officially clinch a berth in this summer’s Olympic games and the sixth-ranked shooter in the world in men’s 10-meter air rifle (according to the International Sport Shooting Federation), was introduced to his sport through a program …More

London Kvelling is a series of articles profiling Jewish and/or Israeli athletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics, which begins in London on July 27. Wimbledon is barely in the rearview mirror, but the All-England Club is set to host its second major event of the summer in a little more than two weeks' time, as the storied venue will be the site for tennis events at the 2012 Summer Olympics. When the tournament begins on July 28, Israel's tennis Olympians will look to make vast improvements on their last trip to the …More

London Kvelling is a series of articles profiling Jewish and Israeli athletes competing at the 2012 Summer Olympics, which begins in London on July 27. For Misha Zilberman, badminton is a family thing. The Russian-born 23-year-old is set to represent Israel in his sport later this month in London. When the Olympic badminton tournament begins on July 28, Zilberman will be one of 40 athletes chasing the gold in the men's singles tournament. It will be the biggest competition yet for the Israeli champion. Of …More

London Kvelling is a series of articles profiling Jewish and Israeli athletes competing at the 2012 Summer Olympics, which begins in London on July 27. When the Olympic women's basketball tournament begins in London later this month, Israel will not be one of the participating countries. Officially, Israel will be represented in 12 sports this summer in London: athletics (aka "track and field"), badminton, artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, judo, sailing, shooting, swimming, synchronized swimming and …More