acca
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Star Power
With almost 3,000 visiting athletes at the Maccabi Games,
world class athletes will come to the fore.
Jo Ankier, Track
and Field
Delegation:
Great Britain
Background:
Already this year,
15-year-old Jo was
the winner in the
1,500 meter at the
Middlesex County Championships
for the second straight year, South of
England Championships and the
National Junior Women's League
under-20 division.
Last year at the Maccabiah Games
in Israel, Jo took the gold medal in
the 1,500, and silver in the 400 and
800. She was also the winner of the
London mini-marathon.
Liat Le
Swimming
Delegation: Mexico
Background: Liat,
14, has become one
of Mexico's top
backstroke swim-
mers in her age
group. Her national
ranking at both 13-14 and under-12
was second in the 200 meters.
At last year's Maccabiah, Liat fin-
ished third in the 100 meters and she
has twice been a member of the
Mexican national team.
Jaclyn Benjamin,
Soccer
Delegation:
Northern Virginia
Background: Jaclyn,
6, is the headliner
of her delegation's
14-girl soccer team.
She has scored the
winning goal in two state champi
onships for Oakton Na.) High
School. She made the All-District
high school teams as a freshman and
sophomore, and was an Honorable
Mention Washington, D.C., All-
Metro team selection this past sea-
son.
Jaclyn is a three-time Virginia
Olympic Development Program
member, and part of the National
under-16 ODP pool in 1997.
She tried out for the Maccabiah
junior boys soccer team that went to
Israel in 1997, and will try out for
the Pan Am Maccabi boys soccer
team in 1999, both times because
there are no girls teams in either of
those games.
Esperanza Daniel
Bucay, Tennis
Delegation: Mexico
Background:
Esperanza will be_
coming to Detroit
for his second
Maccabi Games,
winning a gold
medal in tennis last year in Sarasota,
Fla. In 1997, he was seeded third in
Mexico City, and seventh nationally
in the Under-14 age division.
He won the Centro Deportivo
Israelita tournaments in 1995 and
1996 in the U-12 division, and was a
finalist in 1997.
So far this year, he's been a finalist
in the state tournament, finished
fourth in the sectional tournament,,
and was a national tournament Oar-
terfinalist.
Jeremiah Cohen,
Swimming,
Delegation:
St. Paul
Background:
Jeremiah comes to
Detroit with cre-
dentials. In addi-
tion to winning the
200 yard individual medley for St.
Paul Academy at the Minnesota State
Championships, he's won 10 United
States Swimming Minnesota state
titles. He's also ranked nationally in
the top 16 in the 200 and 400 meter
IM.
Jeremiah was a multi-medal win-
ner at the 1996 Maccabi Games at
Metro West, winning gold medals in
the 200 meter breaststroke and 400
IM, silvers in the 100 breaststroke
and 200 IM, and a bronze in the
100 backstroke.
Isaac Dayan,
Tennis
Delegation: Mexico
Background: Isaac
was the top-ranked
player in Mexico
City and No. 12 in
the country in the
12-and-under divi-
sion in 1996. At age 12, he won the
14-and-under division of the Nick
Bolletieri Cup in Mexico City.
A Maccabi champion last year in
Sarasota, he finished 1997 ranked
fourth in singles in Mexico City, and
10th in doubles nationally. At this
year's sectional tournament, he fin-
ished in sixth place, and at the first
National Championship of the year,
he came in 24th.
Micah Fisher-
Kirshner, Chess
Delegation: San
Francisco Bay
Background:
Micah, a sopho-
more at San Jose
Mission High
School, will com-
pete in chess this year, after partici-
pating in both track and soccer in
previous years.
Since he was 7 years old, he's
ranked in the top 50 in his age
by the United States Chess
Federation, being ranked as high as
third. This year, now rated an expert,
he tied for second at the CalChess
High School Championships, and
finished 13th out of 976 at the
National High School Chess
Championships.
While in elementary school,
Micha won the California. Chess
State Primary School Championship
once, and the Elementary School
Championship twice, and in junior
high was the state's seventh grade
champ.
Arie Geller,
Tennis,
Delegation:
Mexico
Background: Arie,
16 years old, is in
his final Maccabi
Games. Last year,
he participated in
the Maccabiah in Israel, where he
won two rounds. In the 1996 games
itY St. Louis, he won the bronze
medal in doubles and finished fourth
in singles.
In four major tournaments this
year, Arie has finished among the top
eight, falling in the finals in the
Affiliation and Regional tourna-
ments. He is ranked 18th nationally,
and third in Mexico City.
Marc Gilston,
Table Tennis
Delegation:
Great Britain
Background: As a
13-year-old last
year, Marc repre-
sented Great
Britain in the
Maccabiah in Israel, following his
.national Maccabi under-14 title in
April 1997.
He became a national champion
in November 1997, winning the
STAR on page 11
8/14
1998
Detroit Jewish News
M7