The Israeli rhythmic gymnastics team secured a silver medal in the all-around final at the Paris Olympics on Saturday, achieving a combined score of 68.850 across their two routines (hoops and mixed).
In the hoops routine, considered the team's stronger performance, Israel delivered a clean execution to the tune of Echad Mi Yodea. However, the difficulty level was not high enough, resulting in a score of 35.600 points and a fifth-place finish. This was an improvement of 0.350 points from the qualifying round but was still somewhat disappointing, particularly as Italy and Bulgaria, the main podium rivals, did not excel in their routines.
Israel, performing last in each of the exercises, needed to surpass 32.200 points in the mixed routine (three ribbons and two balls). They did so impressively with a brilliant performance that earned 33.250 points, an improvement of 1.350 points from the qualifiers. This score secured them second place in this routine (only Bulgaria, which finished fourth overall, achieved a better score) and the silver medal.
The team, coached by Ayelet Zussman, comprises Ofir Shaham, 19, Diana Svertsov, 19, Hadar Friedman, 18, Romi Paritzki, 20 and Shani Bakanov, 18. This marks Israel's seventh medal in Paris, surpassing its previous record of four medals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Despite a disappointing performance during the qualifiers on Friday, where the Israeli team finished sixth, everything aligned perfectly for them this time. With the timely absence of strong Russian and Belarusian teams, banned due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Israel showcased the best team it has ever had.
Throughout this campaign, the Israeli quintet has won everything possible. The pinnacle, until Saturday, was the gold medal at last year's World Championships in the all-around, and they have consistently reached the podium in nearly every competition they entered.
This is Israel’s 20th Olympic medal ever and the seventh medal in Paris, more than in any other single Olympic campaign, by a significant margin - the previous record was four medals in Tokyo 2020. The gymnastics team joins three medals from judo—Raz Hershko (silver), Inbar Lanir (silver) and Peter Paltchik (bronze)—as well as windsurfers Tom Reuveny (gold) and Sharon Kantor (silver) and floor gymnast Artem Dolgopyat (silver).
Final scores:
China - 69.800
Israel - 68.850
Italy - 68.100
Bulgaria - 67.800
Azerbaijan - 66.450
France - 66.000
Ukraine - 65.700
Uzbekistan - 64.500