2013 Maccabiah Games

Updated on Nov 23, 2023

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Nations participating 77 Athletes participating 7500 Opening city Jerusalem		Debuting countries 17 Events 490 Medals 34 Sports Opening ceremony July 18

The 19th Maccabiah (Hebrew: המכביה התשע-עשרה‎‎) were the 19th incarnation of the Maccabiah Games, which took place July 18 to 30, 2013. The games brought together 7500 athletes, making it the third largest international sporting event in the world after the Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup. The Maccabiah held competitions in 42 disciplines in 34 sports. A number of new sports were introduced or brought back including Archery, Equestrian and Handball; Ice Hockey was brought back for the first time since 1997.

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremonies for the 19th Maccabiah took place for the second time at the Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem. The games officially opened by Shimon Peres. US President Barack Obama greeted the Maccabiah through a prerecorded video. Prime Minister David Cameron also greeted the Maccabiah and team GB. During the parade of nations, giant helium balloons with the country the delegation represented accommodated each delegation. Coincidentally, the opening ceremony took place on Nelson Mandela's birthday. The South African delegation carried with them a large banner reading: "Celebrating our legacy – Mandela Day".

U.S. Olympian Aly Raisman lit the Maccabiah cauldron. The opening ceremonies were celebrated with a number of popular musicians such as Rami Kleinstein and Harel Skaat. Additionally, the Grammy-winning, Israeli violinist Miri Ben-Ari and the The X Factor finalist Carly Rose Sonenclar also performed at the ceremony.

Notable medalists

American Olympic medalist swimmer Garrett Weber-Gale won the gold medal in the men’s 100 free with a time of 48.99, and won the gold medal in the men's 50 meter sprint with a new Maccabiah record time of 22.68 seconds. Marcel Felder of Uruguay won a gold medal in men's tennis.

Israeli Laetitia Beck won both an individual gold medal and a team gold medal at the Games, shooting 69 in each of the three rounds, finishing 9-under, 15 strokes ahead of her next competitor. Israeli sprinter Donald Sanford broke the Israeli record and won the gold medal in the 400 meter race with a time of 45.65. Israeli Alex Averbuch returned from retirement and won the gold medal in the pole vault. Israeli swimmer Amit Ivry won a bronze medal in the Women's 100m freestyle, with a time of 57.19. Israel's Alex Tripolski won the gold medal in the 10 meter air pistol with a score of 571, and the silver medal in the 50 meter free pistol with a score of 530.

Benjamin Feinman, from Davie, Florida, a recent high school graduate, threw a no-hitter on the opening day of competition for Team USA against Canada. This was the first no-hitter in the history of the Maccabiah Games. Team USA, which also had Israeli-American Dean Kremer pitching for it, went on to take the gold medal in baseball, and Benjamin was selected as the MVP of the baseball competition.