Letter to "my" athletes:

Hi Team!

I thought I would officially say hello to you all at once!  No time to be shy, we are only a few weeks away from an incredible journey!

On paper, you are one of the strongest and most talented T&F/HM teams we have brought in many years if not ever. 

Our Juniors Team is greatly improved with several State Champs.

Our Open team is also improved especially in the field, sprints and distance events. Oh wait, that's everything :)

Our Half Marathon Teams, Masters and Open, will be greatly improved as well. 

You are all great athletes and will be very competitive against the world's best Jewish athletes including Israel's National team. Everyone will have a good chance to bring home a Maccabiah medal.

You might have heard that 19 year old phenom, 400m Olympic finalist, Steve Solomon from Australia will be running for Team Australia- This rumor is in fact true.

You might have heard that Team USA added the fastest Jewish miler to EVER run, Russell Wolf Brown (3:51)- This rumor is also true.

You might have heard that Alex Averbuch, Israel's immensely popular European Champion pole vaulter, is coming back after a hiatus to compete in the Maccabiah- also true! (I heard he just wanted to meet Aly Raisman and Amar'e Stoudemire, but that is a false rumor)

You might have heard another true rumor; that Israel recruited 4 of our teammates from the 2009 team for Israel's National team.  Many are still on Israel's payroll now and are doing tremendously well. They include: Dustin Emrani,  Aly Goldfarb, Brian Mondschein, and USA Olympian, Jillian Schwartz.  Jillian went on to vault for Team Israel in the London Olympics.  I am especially proud of them and all of my former teammates for their success on and off the track. 

You are about to be inducted into an elite fraternity-  You represent the USA's best Jewish athletes. Since the Games started 80 years ago, only 6,000 USA athletes have participated, many former, current or past Olympians.  Our track and field teams over the years are fewer than only 500 participants- (many are blind copied on this email.)  You are in the company of: Dwight Stones (announcer and US Olympian), Ken Flax (current NCAA record holder, US Olympian), Deena Kastor (current USA marathon record holder and USA Olympian), Irv Mondschein (USA Olympian). Jews are a small minority in the world (.25%) yet we make up of over 3% of Olympic medals. As per Adam Sandler, "not too shabby."

I'll also use this moment to welcome our high profile Coaches- Coach Rick Rothman will be returning as our Junior's Coach, member of the Florida Coaches Hall of Fame and the current National Cross Country Coach of the Year.  For the Open team, we are lucky to again have Coach Alex Smolka, aka "Smolks",  the current Head Track and Cross Country Coach for Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.  Carl Grossman will be assisting both Coaches upon his arrival.  Carl is the long-time Head Track Coach of Cheltenham High School in Pennsylvania who especially enjoys to work with vaulters.  Mike Gross will be leading the Masters Half Marathon team as the Player/Coach.

On a personal level, I call Boca Raton my home and still train with my old high school coach.  I did decathlon for the University of Maryland and was All-ACC.  I have been Maccabiah T&F Chairman for 8 years and the Half Marathon team was added to my responsibilities 4 years ago.  I was hoping to be retired, but will participate in these last games to help fill some voids (Jav, PV, 110h).  Please note you are eligible to participate in only 3 Games as a subsidized athlete.  (For full disclosure purposes, I will be self-funded and will not be using Maccabiah money to participate.)

If you haven't found our Facebook page yet, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/19thWorldMaccabiahUsaTrackFieldHalfMarathon?ref=ts&fref=ts 

If you are eyeing a Maccabiah record, here they are: http://maccabia2013.iaa.co.il/index.php?lang=en&uri=/165records (hmm.. they didn't add Jillian's record.)

The Half Marathon is July 23rd  just east of Tel Aviv. The Track meet will be the 24th and 25th at Ramat Gan Stadium. If you run the 10k, it will be run on the road 10 minutes before the Half Marathoners on the 23rd. We do not have a time schedule yet.

I look forward to meeting everyone. Enjoy every minute of the journey!

2013 Maccabiah USA Track Team Annouced

It is with great honor, that I introduce to you, the 19th Maccabiah Track and Field and Half Marathon Teams:

Juniors Girls:

Ariel Becker, Arroyo Grande, CA
Sarah Leiserowitz, Las Vegas, NV
Keren Hendel, San Jose, CA
Shelby Hummel, Chesterfield, MO
Hallie Meland, Miami Beach, FL
Kenlyn Mirbach, Los Altos Hills, CA
Rose Paskoff, Lynbrook, NY
Rachael Rosow, Avon, CT
Julie Shanus, Pleasantville, NY
Sarah Stern, Irvine, CA


Junior Boys:
Daniel Barlev, Holmdel, NJ
Tal Braude, San Diego, CA
Matthew Calem, Oakton, VA
Nir Glazer, Ann Arbor, MI
Jason Kahan, Roseville CA
Adam Markun, Topanga, CA
Jacob Slann, Clemson, SC
Mitchell Tuckerman, Bexley OH
Andrew Zuckerman, Potomac, MD

Coach: Rick Rothman, Boca Raton, FL

Open Track and Field Women:
Maya Aviezer, Agoura Hills, CA
Kera Bartlett, Washington DC
Bridget Blum, Claremont, CA
Laura Coyne, Freehold, NJ
Rachel Eisman, Pound Ridge, NY
Greta Feldman, Princeton, NJ
Ariel Fieldman, Roselyn Heights, NY
Melanie Fineman, Newton, MA
Jessica Goodkin, Los Angeles, CA
Sarah Katz, Williamsburg, VA
Nicole Meisner, Huntington Woods, MI
Katherine Pierce, South Bend, IN
Leah Rosenfeld, Ridgefield, CT
Danielle Tauro, Manahawkin, NJ
Sarah Williams, Los Gatos, CA
Chelsea Zeig, West Nyack, NY



Open Track and Field Men:
Sean Bernstein, Oneonta, NY
Ryan Davis, Miramar, FL
Rob Fellman, Boca Raton, FL
Benjamin Katz, Manakin-Sabot, VA
Eric Kessler, Rockville Centre, NY
Michael Levine, Commack, NY
Joshua Lewis, Montville, NJ
Cameron Marantz, Philadelphia, PA
Jeffrey Merrill, Portland, OR
Stephen Michaelsen, Newport Beach, CA
Adam Rabushka, Deerfield, IL
Colin Reno, Cross River, NY
Jordan Schilit, Tampa Bay, FL
Adam Simon, Freehold, NJ
Daniel Suher, Wilmington, DE
Jacob Weintraub, Redondo Beach, CA
Russell Wolf-Brown, Eugene, OR

Coach: Alex Smolka, Boca Raton, FL

Open Half Marathon Women:
Samantha Lee, Forest Grove, OR
Emily Mossler, Indianapolis, IN
Melissa Perlman, Boca Raton, FL
Hannah Pierce, Alfred, ME
Caron Trakman, San Diego, CA

Open Half Marathon Men:
Jason Belinkie, Bethesda, MD
Avi Bregman, Ardmore, PA
Jacob Sandry, New Haven, CT
Alex Wolf-Root, Santa Rosa, CA
Jordan Zwick, Pittsford, NY

Masters Half Marathon:
Carol Benjamin, Bowie, MD
Dana Blum, San Francisco, CA
Victor Faradji, Coral Gables, FL
Robert Fried, Great Neck, NY
Michael Gross, Holland, PA
Carl Grossman, Wyndmoor, PA
Jason Karp, San Diego, CA
Allegra Manacher, Weston, MA
Terry Robinson, Mercer Island, WA
Arthur Sills, Cambridge, MA
Larry Sills, Brooklyn, NA
Sarah Stenn, Sagaponack, NY
Denise Winner, Manhattan Beach, CA


Chairman: Robert Fellman

Alex Averbuch Confirmed to vault at Maccabiah

Alex Averbuch, former European champion in the pole vault, will return to competing for one night only – after retiring four years ago at the last Maccabiah. In a surprise comeback, Averbuch, 38, is determined to win the Gold at the Maccabiah, and sees this as his last chance on the International stage.  His chances have increased since USA's top Maccabiah vaulter, Brian Mondschein, is still recovering his knee and hopes to be back for the Games.  Alex said, “I retired in 2009 a few months after my daughter was born. She never had a chance to see me jump, and now she will have the chance to do so.”

In other Maccabiah news, USA Olympic gold medalist Ali Raisman will be joining Team USA in Israel this Summer.  She will be participating in an undisclosed capacity. Personally, I'm thrilled by this news and it deserves a separate blog entry, but I'm trying to keep the blog Track and field related.  She made me, along with millions of Jewish athlete supporters, very proud this past Summer in London. 

Additionally, New York Knick, Amar'e Stoudemire, will be coaching the Canadian Maccabiah Basketball team.  He is a recent convert and we are eager to roll-out a warm welcome to him.  Check out this interview with Amar'e in Israel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQPJ1Ujo7_U

Fastest Jewish Miler- Russell Wolf Brown

Move over Adam Goucher- The fastest Jewish Miler to ever run four laps is now Russell Wolf Brown.

The former Stanford University stand-out and Oregon Track Club member has been quietly waiting for the Maccabiah Organization to approach him.  "It has always been a goal of mine to run in Maccabiah for my Mom's brother, Aunt and Cousins who live in Israel." 

It has been confirmed that Russell's 1-mile time of 3:51:45 is indeed the fastest time a Jewish person has ever recorded.  Adam Goucher's previous best of 3:54:17 in 1999 was long regarded as the top jewish miler.

Now Russell will be enjoying some of the spotlight as a hero in the eyes of many Israeli children that will be rooting for him this summer against Australia's Steve Solomon and Israel's Dustin Emrani (see below).

Russell should enjoy the attention while he can- There are a few Jewish high school milers that seem to have lots of promise.  They include Tal Braude 4:16 (also confirmed for the 19th Maccabiah) and Ben Malone the recent winner of the Millrose Games in 4:12.

Your chance to sponsor an athlete

Although it is "uncomfortable" it is quite necessary and imperative.   To send the 30 Open athletes, and 14 Junior athletes to Israel this Summer, we need financial support.  Thank you so much for visiting my blog and expressing an interest.  I have raised a considerable amount from wonderful supporters and now I need your assistance to complete my goals.

Please visit: https://friendraising.towercare.com/Markslist/campaign/viewDetails.do?campaignId=12479"

 Thank you in advance for your support.