List of Jewish Olympic medalists

Since the inception of the modern Olympic Games in 1896, Jewish athletes have taken part in both the Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics. The following is a list of Jewish athletes who have won an Olympic medal in the modern games.

Under the criteria of this list, Olympic medalists must have or had at least one Jewish parent and must have identified as Jewish. If the player has converted to another religion before their Olympic achievements, they should not be listed. Similarly, if the player has converted to Judaism before their Olympic achievements, they should be included; if they converted afterwards, they should not be listed here.

Summer Olympics

Alfred and Gustav Flatow on a German stamp; both were killed in the Holocaust
Paul Neumann
Otto Wahle
Alexandre Lippmann
Jackie Fields
Jenő Fuchs
1928 Dutch women's gymnastics team, which had four Jewish members, three of whom were killed in the Holocaust
Bobbie Rosenfeld of Canada, gold medalist at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics
Lillian Copeland, track and field gold medalist at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics
Endre Kabos, gold medalist at the 1936 Berlin Olympics who was killed in the Holocaust
Ágnes Keleti, one of the most decorated Jewish Olympians in history
Isaac Berger
Tamara Press of the USSR
Irina Press of the USSR
Leon Rotman
Grigory Kriss
Árpád Orbán, Hungarian football player and Olympic gold medalist
Marilyn Ramenofsky
Mark Spitz, one of the most decorated Olympic swimmers
Dara Torres, twelve-time Olympic swimming medalist
Aly Raisman, three-time Olympic gold medalist gymnast
Jessica Fox, Gold medalist canoeist
Jo Aleh, Gold medalist sailor for New Zealand
Gal Friedman, Israel's first Olympic gold medalist (in windsurfing), and Ariel Ze'evi, bronze medalist in judo

1896 Athens

Gold
  • Alfred Flatow, Germany, gymnastics[1]
    • parallel bars
    • gymnastics, team parallel bars
    • gymnastics, team horizontal bar
  • Alfréd Hajós, Hungary, swimming[2]
    • 100-meter freestyle
    • 1,500-meter freestyle
  • Paul Neumann, Austria, swimming[2]
    • 500-meter freestyle
Silver

1900 Paris

Gold
Silver
  • Jean Bloch, France[2]
    • soccer
  • Henri Cohen, Belgium[2]
    • water polo
  • Meyer Prinstein, USA, athletics
    • long jump
  • Otto Wahle, Austria, swimming[2]
    • 1000-meter freestyle
    • 200-meter obstacle race
Bronze

1904 St. Louis

Gold
  • Samuel Berger, USA, boxing[2]
    • heavyweight
  • Meyer Prinstein, USA, athletics
    • long jump
    • triple jump
Silver
Bronze

1908 London

Gold
Silver
Bronze

1912 Stockholm

Gold
Silver
Bronze

1920 Antwerp

Gold
Silver
Bronze

1924 Paris

Gold
Silver
Bronze

1928 Amsterdam

Gold
Silver
Bronze
  • Harold Devine, USA, boxing[2]
    • featherweight
  • Harry Isaacs, South Africa, boxing[2]
    • bantamweight
  • Samuel Rabin, Great Britain, freestyle wrestling[2]
    • middleweight
  • Edward Smouha, Great Britain, athletics[2]
    • 4X100-meter relay

1932 Los Angeles

Gold
Silver
Bronze
  • Nathan Bor, USA, boxing[2]
    • lightweight
  • Nickolaus Hirschl, Austria[2]
    • freestyle wrestling, heavyweight
    • Greco-Roman wrestling, heavyweight
  • Endre Kabos, Hungary, fencing
    • individual saber
  • Albert Schwartz, USA, swimming[2]
    • 100-meter freestyle
  • László Szabados, Hungary, swimming[2]
    • 4x200-meter freestyle relay
  • András Székely, Hungary, swimming[2]
    • 4x200-meter freestyle relay

1936 Berlin

Gold
Silver
Bronze
  • Gerard Blitz, Belgium
    • water polo

1948 London

Gold
Silver
Bronze

1952 Helsinki

Gold
Silver
  • Leonid Gissen, USSR[2]
    • rowing, eight-oared shell with coxswain
  • Maria Gorokhovskaya, USSR, gymnastics[2]
    • vault
    • asymmetrical bars
    • balance beam
    • floor exercises
    • team exercises with portable apparatus
  • Ágnes Keleti, Hungary, gymnastics
    • team combined exercises
  • Aleksandr Moiseyev, USSR[2]
    • basketball
  • Grigory Novak, USSR[2]
    • weightlifting, middle-heavyweight
  • Galina Urbanovich, USSR[2]
    • gymnastics, team portable apparatus
  • Henry Wittenberg, USA
    • freestyle wrestling, light-heavyweight
Bronze
  • Jim Fuchs, USA
    • athletics, shot put
  • Ágnes Keleti, Hungary, gymnastics
    • asymmetrical bars
    • team exercises with portable
    • apparatus
  • Herbert Klein, Germany[2]
    • swimming, 200 m breaststroke
  • Judit Temes, Hungary
    • swimming, 100-meter freestyle
  • Lev Weinstein, USSR[2]
    • shooting, free rifle

1956 Melbourne

Gold
  • Isaac Berger, USA[2]
    • weightlifting, featherweight
  • László Fábián, Hungary[2]
    • kayak pairs, 10,000-meters
  • Ágnes Keleti, Hungary, gymnastics
    • asymmetrical bars
    • floor exercises
    • balance beam
    • team exercise with portable apparatus
  • Aliz Kertész, Hungary, gymnastics[2]
    • team exercise with portable apparatus
  • Alfred Kuchevsky, USSR[2]
    • ice hockey
  • Boris Razinsky, USSR[2]
    • soccer
  • Leon Rotman, Romania, canoe[2]
    • 1,000-meter Canadian singles
    • 10,000-meter Canadian singles
  • Igor Rybak, USSR[2]
    • weightlifting, lightweight
Silver
Bronze

1960 Rome

Gold
Silver
Bronze

1964 Tokyo

Gold
Silver
Bronze

1968 Mexico City

Gold
Silver
Bronze

1972 Munich

Gold
  • György Gedó, Hungary
    • boxing, light flyweight
  • Valentin Mankin, USSR
    • yachting, tempest class
  • Faina Melnik, USSR
    • athletics, discus throw
  • Mark Spitz, USA, swimming[4]
    • 100-meter freestyle
    • 200-meter freestyle
    • 100-meter butterfly
    • 200-meter butterfly
    • 400-meter freestyle relay
    • 400-meter medley relay
    • 800-meter freestyle relay
Silver
Bronze

1976 Montreal

Gold
Silver
Bronze

1980 Moscow

Gold
Silver

1984 Los Angeles

Gold
Silver
Bronze
  • Mark Berger, Canada[2]
    • judo, heavyweight
  • Mitch Gaylord, USA, gymnastics[2]
    • rings
    • Parallel bars

1988 Seoul

Gold
Silver
Bronze

1992 Barcelona

Gold
  • Valery Belenky, CIS/Azerbaijan[2]
    • gymnastics, team combined exercises
  • Joe Jacobi, USA[2]
    • canoeing, Canadian slalom pairs
  • Tatiana Lysenko, CIS/Russia, gymnastics
    • balance beam
    • team combined exercises
  • Dara Torres, USA, swimming
    • 4 × 100 m freestyle relay
Silver
Bronze

1996 Atlanta

Gold
Silver
Bronze

2000 Sydney

Gold
Silver
Bronze
  • Robert Dover, USA[2]
    • equestrian, team dressage
  • Michael Kolganov, Israel
    • canoe/kayak, men K-1 500 m
  • Dara Torres, USA, swimming
    • 50m Freestyle
    • 100m Freestyle
    • 100m Butterfly

2004 Athens

Gold
Silver
Bronze

2008 Beijing

Gold
Silver
Bronze

2012 London

Gold
  • Aly Raisman, USA[11]
    • individual floor exercise
    • gymnastics, team
  • Jo Aleh, New Zealand[12]
    • sailing, 470 class
  • Nathan Cohen, New Zealand
    • rowing, double sculls
Silver
  • Jessica Fox, Australia
    • canoeing, K-1
  • Jason Lezak, USA[13]
    • swimming, 4x100 relay
Bronze

2016 Rio de Janeiro

Gold
Silver
  • Jo Aleh, New Zealand
    • sailing, 470 class
  • Zoe De Toledo, Great Britain
    • rowing, coxed eight
  • Aly Raisman, USA, gymnastics
    • individual all-around
    • individual floor exercises
Bronze

2020 Tokyo

Gold
Bronze

2024 Paris

Gold
  • Jessica Fox, Australia[15]
    • Kayak
    • canoe
Silver
Bronze
  • Sarah Levy, USA[15]
    • Women's rugby
  • Jemima Montag, Australia[15]
    • 20-kilometer race walk
    • marathon mixed relay event

Winter Olympics

Rafayel Grach of the USSR
Emília Rotter
Sasha Cohen of the USA
Sarah Hughes of the USA
Irina Slutskaya

1932 Lake Placid

Gold
Bronze

1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Silver
Bronze

1956 Cort. d’Ampezzo

Silver

1960 Squaw Valley

Silver
Bronze

1964 Innsbruck

Bronze

1968 Grenoble

Silver

1980 Lake Placid

Gold

2002 Salt Lake City

Gold
Silver

2006 Turin

Silver
Bronze

2010 Vancouver

Gold
Silver
  • Charlie White, USA[19]
    • ice dancing

2014 Sochi

Gold
  • Charlie White, USA
    • figure skating, pairs
Bronze

2018 Pyeongchang

Bronze

2022 Beijing

Bronze

See also

  • Olympics portal
  • Judaism portal

Others

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "The Holocaust — Persecution of Athletes". U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx cy cz da db dc dd de df dg dh di dj dk dl dm dn do dp dq dr ds dt du dv dw dx dy dz ea eb ec ed ee ef eg eh ei ej ek el em en eo ep eq er es et eu ev ew ex ey ez fa fb fc fd fe ff fg fh fi fj fk fl fm fn fo fp fq fr fs Taylor, Paul (2004). "A Complete Review of Jewish Olympic Medalists". Jews and the Olympic Games: The Clash Between Sport and Politics - With a Complete Review of Jewish Olympic Medallists. Liverpool University Press. pp. 222–245. ISBN 978-1903900871.
  3. ^ Ben-David, Daniel (August 4, 2023). "Extraordinary life of Olympic champion Agnes Keleti told at Jewish family history conference". The Jewish Chronicle.
  4. ^ Harpaz, Beth (September 1, 2022). "Mark Spitz made Olympic history in 1972. Here's why his Jewish identity mattered in Munich". The Forward.
  5. ^ Klayman, Alison (August 11, 2008). "Jews in the Water Cube". Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
  6. ^ Kurtz, Suzanne (October 19, 2006). "First, Olympic gold; now, a Jewish journey". Jewish Standard.
  7. ^ "Windsurfer From Israel Strikes Gold". The Forward. August 26, 2004. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  8. ^ "Jewish swimmer is oldest to win Olympic race in pool". The Times of Israel. Jewish Telegraphic Agency. August 16, 2016.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i Berg, Aimee (September 3, 2004). "Jewish Athletes Put Their Nations on the Map at the Olympics". The Forward.
  10. ^ Desiatnik, Shane (November 23, 2017). "Fingleson's fine return". Australian Jewish News.
  11. ^ Pink, Aiden (October 26, 2017). "Exclusive: Aly Raisman Speaks Out On Sexual Harassment, Judaism And Her Future". The Forward.
  12. ^ "New Zealand Jewish sailor Jo Aleh wins gold". The Jewish Chronicle. August 11, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  13. ^ Rubin, Hannah (July 27, 2012). "Even With Fame, Jason Lezak's a 'Mensch'". The Forward.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h Burack, Emily (July 29, 2021). "These Jewish athletes won medals at the Tokyo Olympics". Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Gurvis, Jacob (August 8, 2024). "All the Jewish medalists at the 2024 Paris Olympics". Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
  16. ^ a b c d e "Jewish athletes in the Olympics — then and now". Jweekly. February 9, 2006. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  17. ^ Karfeld, Marilyn (December 11, 2003). "Olympic gold skater finds Jewish roots". Cleveland Jewish News.
  18. ^ Singer, Jenny (February 3, 2018). "Jewish Olympian Sasha Cohen Is Living Her Best Life Now". The Forward.
  19. ^ "Jewish Ice Dancer Wins Olympic Silver". The Forward. Jewish Telegraphic Agency. February 23, 2010.
  20. ^ Hale, Rachel (January 24, 2022). "Skating to 'Schindler's List,' figure skater Jason Brown to make second trip to Winter Olympics". The Forward.
  21. ^ "Jewish snowboarder snags bronze in Pyeongchang Games". The Times of Israel. February 13, 2018. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  22. ^ Gurvis, Jacob (December 29, 2022). "The top 8 Jewish sports moments of 2022". The Forward.

Further reading

Articles

  • Tatz, Colin (January 17, 2017). "The Dark History of Jews And The Olympics". The Forward.

Books

  • Mayer, Paul Yogi (2004). Jews and the Olympic Games: A Springboard for Minorities. Vallentine Mitchell. ISBN 978-0853034513.
  • Taylor, Paul (2004). Jews and the Olympic Games: The Clash Between Sport and Politics - With a Complete Review of Jewish Olympic Medallists. Liverpool University Press. ISBN 978-1903900871.
  • Jewish Olympic Medalists at the Jewish Virtual Library
  • A Brief History of Jews in the Olympics