SPORTS
Chicago Bound
Detroit's Maccabi
teams will pick
up where they left
off in Toronto
MIKE ROSENBAUM
Sports Writer
1r
he North American Mac-
cabi Youth Games are
one week away, and De-
troit's teams are making
their final preparations.
Detroit won 12 gold medals at the
1986 games in Toronto, but only two
of those champions will return this
year. Swimmer Linda Goldstein, who
grabbed five golds in Ibronto, will not
participate because of a conflict with
a national competition. Michelle
Mantel, who took three gold medals,
is too old to compete, although she is
coaching the table tennis team.
The returning champions are
Dena Bernstein, who swam to victory
in the 13-14 age group, adding three
silver medals and one bronze, plus
Jennifer Goldfarb, a gold medalist in
tennis doubles. Two other individual
medalists from 1986, plus members of
the bronze medal-winning boys and
Maccabia Soccer Coach
Gabriel Attar watches
Joel Pittman do a
warm-up drill.
girls softball teams are also going to
Chicago.
SWIMMING
Bernstein, Michigan's U.S. Swim-
ming long-course champion in the 200
butterfly in March, leads the team.
Erica Rice, who won two silver medals
in relays at Toronto, also returns.
Coach Herb Bernstein sees his
daughter Dena as one of the team's
top medal hopes, in the butterfly and
distance freestyle events. He cites
Danny Hamburger as the other best
bet, in breaststroke and freestyle
events.
Rounding out the team are Eyal
Blatman, Lauren Dworkin, Jason
Gordon, David Hitsky and Robert
Kamins.
The team does not have organized
practices, but coach Bernstein keeps
track of each swimmer's individual
progress. "They're all swimming for
either their own club or, like my
daughter, they're swimming for
Wrestler Earns U.S. Olympic Berth
"I didn't have much competition pics titles in both freestyle and Greco-
in
it
but the next year I went out for Roman wrestling in 1983. He also was
Special to The Jewish News
the school team and lost to another student body president and all-
t's almost unheard of for a seventh grader. They only kept one conference in cross country.
At Penn State, Chertow has a
collegian to make an Olympic boy for each weight class.
"In
high
school,
both
he
and
I
won
96-28-3
record and two third-place
wrestling team, but Ken Chertow
NCAA National Tournament finish-
has done so while contending "I'm on- state championships!"
Despite making the Olympic es, with his senior year season re-
ly an average athlete in natural abili-
team,
Chertow never has won an maining. His natural weight is 132
ty" and admitting he failed to make
NCAA
collegiate wrestling champion- pounds but he points out, "Your body
his seventh grade wrestling team.
Chertow, born in suburban ship, though he qualified for the tour- is 60 percent water so getting down
to 114.5 pounds just involves cutting
Chicago, moved to Huntington, W. Va. nament three times. He explains:
"College wrestling is different down your fluid intake for a few days
as a youngster and is a member of the
U.S. wrestling team at 114.5 pounds from freestyle, Olympic wrestling. In before a match. It's not really that
college you try to immobilize your op- hard."
for the Seoul Olympic Games.
Regarding his sport, the hard-
Huntington, says Chertow, has ponent; in freestyle you get more
only 150 Jewish families — and one points for lifting or throwing him off working athlete feels "You get out of
it what you put in. The more moves
temple — among its 70,000 his feet!'
Chertow began freestyle wrestl- you know, the more likely you are to
population.
I'll be the only collegian and the ing while in high school because "I decide what will work against your
youngest member of the freestyle knew being a West Virginia state opponent. It's very tactical — learn-
team at 21," he continued. "The champion would not be enough to get ing so many different ways to do the
a good college scholarship; it's not a same thing."
average age is 26-27."
As for his post-Olympic plans,
Chertow, a pre-med major at Penn strong state for wrestling!'
Chertow won state titles at 119 Chertow says, "I have good grades
State, says he first began wrestling in
sixth grade because I was kind of an and 126 pounds, compiled a 101-2 and good scores on my medical school
aggressive, ornery kid and they had career record (65-0 his last two years) exam. But right now I'm undecided
but also won national Junior Olym- whether I want to be a doctor or con-
this program at the YMCA.
HARLAN ABBEY
I
44
FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 1988
Ken Chertow
tinue competing and coaching
wrestling.
"If you can teach young people the
work ethic through sports, you may be
able to do as much good, possibly, as
a doctor can." ■