36 | SEPTEMBER 1 • 2022
G
old, silver and bronze medals were
won by the Michigan Maccabiah
Men at last month’s 21st Maccabiah
in Jerusalem, where 10,000 athletes from 60
countries competed in 47 different sports.
The Masters Basketball Team, which
took the bronze against Brazil, included
Michael Friedman, who competed in his
12th Maccabiah for Team USA
at the world’s largest Jewish
athletic competition in the tra-
dition and values of Maccabi,
emphasizing the importance of
bringing Jewish people together
to celebrate their shared culture,
strength and pride through
sport.
Considered one of the best Jewish
Masters guards in the country and one of
the most decorated 50+-year-old basket-
ball players who have competed on the
international stage, the Birmingham native
made his first U.S. squad in 2000. He said
he believes that much of his success is due
to his athleticism, which matured in his 20s
and 30s.
Two other Michigan-connected ath-
letes are Alan Gerdov and Adam Wooten,
University of Michigan varsity gymnas-
tics team members, who took six medals
between them.
Wooten, who is returning to complete in
his senior year at Michigan, won the gold
medal in vault and horizontal bar, and the
silver for still rings and team. Gerdov, who
graduated with his MSE (electrical engi-
neering) in the spring and a BSE in electri-
cal engineering in 2021, was awarded the
silver medal for team and bronze for vault.
Originally, “Michigan was one of the few
schools I wasn’t interested in because my
sister graduated from there and I wanted to
pave my own path,” Gerdov said. However,
“after the whole recruiting process, I final-
ly made the decision to attend Michigan
without an offer because of the combination
of attending one of the best engineering
programs in the country combined with the
opportunity to do gymnastics on such a his-
torically great team was a no-brainer.”
Gerdov was cut from the team after one
semester because of residual back issues
from a previous stress factor and was asked
to stay involved as an undergraduate assis-
tant coach.
During the summer going into junior
year, Gerdov said, “I would practice by
myself after my internship to stay in shape.
I felt healthier and was looking good, so I
talked to the coaches on what they thought
about me coming back. We all decided to
give it another go, and I made the team and
competed.”
Gerdov, of Lincolnshire, Ill., ultimately
was voted one of Michigan’s three team cap-
tains and a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar
last season. He and Wooten helped lead
the Wolverines to back-to-back Big Ten
Champions, finishing third in the NCAA.
“The Big-Ten is the best conference for
gymnastics,” Wooten said.
Wooten, from Kingston Springs, Tenn.,
SPORTS
Michael
Fishman
Men
Michigan
Maccabiah
Michigan men won gold, silver and
bronze at the Maccabiah Games in Israel.
NATHANIEL WARSHAY CONTRIBUTING WRITER