FOR THE RECORD
ISRAELI OLYMPIANS
PARALYMPICS
page 07
Membership: Hapoel
Konstantin
Semyonov
Age: 27
Category: Pole vault
Achievements: First at
the Hapoel Games in Tel
Aviv with a 5.70 meter
jump.
Coach: Pavel Kogan
Training: Wingate In-
stitute and the Athletics
Stadium in Tel Aviv
Occupation: Coach
Windsurfing
Gal Friedman
Age: 21
Achievements: Second
Tel Aviv
Residence: Holon
Also competing:
Anat Fabrikant
Age: 20
Achievements: In
1995, she ranked
13th, and eighth for
the country at the
European Champi-
onship in Sweden
Anat Fabrikant and 32nd at the
World Champion-
ship; 18th, and 10th
for the country at
the World Champi-
onship in Brazil this
year.
Training: Tel Aviv
marina and Hadar
Yosef stadium.
Membership: Hapoel
Tel Aviv
Residence: Ramat-
Hasharon
at the European Cham-
pionship in 1995 and
second at the World
Championship in Haifa
this year.
Coach: Gur Steinberg
Training: Sedot Yam
Membership: Hapoel So-
ciety Cesarea Marine
Gal Friedman
Center
Residence: Karkur
Wrestling
Gotcha Tzitzuashvili
Age: 23
Category: Greek-Roman
style
Achievements: Silver at
the European Champi-
onships in 1994 and at
the World Championship
in 1995; bronze at the
1995 European Champi-
onship and the European
Championship this year.
Coaches: Yaacov Mazin and Ben-
ny Migarashvili
Training: Hapoel Beersheva
Residence: Beersheva
Immigrated: 1993
Shani Kedmi
Age:19
Achievements: Same
as her boat-mate,
Anat Fabrikant
Training: Tel Aviv
marina and Hadar
Yosef stadium
Membership:
Hapoel Tel Aviv
Residence: Ramat
Aviv
Coach: Eitan Fried-
lander
Shani Kedmi
— Compiled by
Roni B. Robbins
Source: Olympics curriculum by the
Atlanta Jewish Community Task Force
on the Summer 1996 Games; Efraim
Zinger, executive director of the Olympic
Committee of Israel; The Jerusalem Re-
port, Sept. 21, 1995; U.S. Committee
Sports For Israel.
Israeli Ties
Ran Shen-Tal
Yachting
470-model
Top contenders:
Ran and Nir Shen-Tal
Ages: 25 and 27, respectively
Achievements: In 1995, the broth-
ers ranked third at the World
Championship in Toronto and
fourth at the Spain Regatta; 11th
at the World Championship in
Brazil this year.
Training: Tel Aviv marina
Several Jews serve as U.S.
representatives of the Israeli
delegation, helping coordinate
communication, training and
preparations for the Games.
They include:
• Atsmon Paz, Israeli envoy or
liaison between the Olympic
Committee of Israel and the At-
lanta Committee for the
Olympic Games.
• Mr. Paz's team of envoys:
Tova Cohen, Aviva Margolies,
Arthur Heyman, Joel Ring
and Lisa Perlin.
• Steven Mendel, Israeli at-
tache to the Olympic Com-
mittee of Israel.
Equal
Treatment
Wheelchair tennis star
Marc Nadel promotes
disability awareness as
Paralympics organizer.
ERIC GOLDBERG SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
M
arc Nadel has by
necessity become an
expert in semantics.
When the unin- juries and recovered. But Mr. Finest hour: Marc Nadel won top honors
formed refer to disabled ath- Nadel still carries his wounds. at the 1992 Maccabiah Games in Israel.
letes as handicapped, the 1996
"It was devastating," recalls recreational basis.
Atlanta Paralympic Game or- the high school three-sport var-
Three years ago he moved to
ganizer and Jewish paraplegic sity letterman and GSU intra- Atlanta and became a tennis in-
politely corrects: "Handicapped mural tennis player. "That structor for the disabled. He also
connotes begging. We're not incident changed my whole life. organized tennis tournaments,
asking for anything. Para- I went from an active, athletic both independently and for the
lympic athletes are elite per- guy, to someone who had to Atlanta Lawn Tennis Associa-
formers. They just happen to be start all over. You really have tion.
disabled."
Becoming Paralympics tennis
to create a whole new identity,"
What they want is not sym- says Mr. Nadel, a native of competition manager more than
pathy, but to b _ e judged like all small-town Louisville, which is two years ago seemed the next
athletes — by their abilities — 45 miles southwest of Augusta. logical step, he says. In that po-
and to compete against the best
A year of physical rehabilita- sition, Mr. Nadel recruits refer-
in the world.
tion in Savannah followed the ees and oversees preparations
Certainly, nothing is handi- tragedy and it didn't take long of the Stone Mountain tennis
capped about Mr. Nadel, an before Mr. Nadel got back onto venue. But his main goal in that
avid tennis player paralyzed the court — in a wheelchair. A position seems to be educating
from the waist down in a college physical therapist provided the people about disabled athletes.
shooting 18 years ago. Since spark when he told Mr. Nadel:
"What we want to do is change
then, he has built himself up "You'll never play competitive people's thinking. Instead of
physically and emotionally to tennis again."
people watching an event and
play competitive tennis again
Undeterred, Mr. Nadel pressed thinking, 'Look at that poor dis-
and become a medalist at the on to become a nationally abled person,' we want specta-
1992 Maccabiah Games in Is- ranked Open Division player, tors coming out to watch a great
rael. And today, the 37-year-old the sport's highest level.
competition. So we have to raise
Mr. Nadel helps other disabled
One of Mr. Nadel's finest mo- awareness."
athletes become winners too.
The only rule distinguishing
ments was winning gold and sil-
He's come a long way since ver medals in wheelchair tennis wheelchair tennis from its
that tragic day in 1979 when his at the 1992 Maccabiah Games able-bodied counterpart is that
life took its irrevocable turn.
in Israel, the Jewish equivalent the disabled players are per-
Mr. Nadel, a 19-year-old sopho- to the Olympics.
mitted to hit the ball on the
more at Georgia Southern Uni-
Ranked among the top five second bounce, says the trim
versity, was sitting in an
wheelchair tennis players in the Mr. Nadel, swinging his sculpt-
off-campus apartment with a nation during the early 1990s, ed forearm as if holding an
former girlfriend when her ag- Mr. Nadel teamed with Ameri- imaginary racket.
gressive boyfriend burst into the can Ryan Martin for the Mac-
Unfortunately, the public does
room. The man shot the woman
cabiah Games to win the gold not view disabled tennis players
once and Mr. Nadel three times medal in doubles.
on the same level as able-bodied
— in the chest, side and head —
After retiring from tourna- stars, he adds. "But if we can get
before taking his own life.
ment competition, Mr. Nadel is people to recognize that these
The woman slifFered minor in- no longer ranked on the wheel- are elite athletes playing top-lev-
Eric Goldberg is an Atlanta writer. chair circuit. He only plays on a el tennis, that's a start."
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