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.

Olympian Andy Bloom Un-Retires for Maccabiah

At the last Maccabiah Games, pole vaulter Jillian Schwartz came back from retirement to compete.  That led her to an appearance to the 2012 London Olympics representing Israel.  Now, 2000 USA Olympian Andy Bloom will attempt to follow her lead.  Andy, who was already appointed as an Assistant Coach for Maccabi USA Track and Field, has commited to throwing the discus at the Games.

As he stated, "Getting by my wife will be more difficult than training for the Games."  He feels his body can't handle more shot puts, but feels his discus throwing ability might still be elite.  How does he know this?  His 10 year old daughter brought the former Olympian to school for "show and tell" - to demonstrate his talents.  He feel his back and shoulder held up just great and he has begun his training.

Andy has thrown the discus and shot put farther than any Jewish person in recorded history.  He retired abruptly in 2002 due to injury, but is eager to throw again at Maccabiah this Summer.

Andy will a drastic improvement from my bronze medal appearance in the 2009 Games.  To put things in perspective, my career best discus throw was about 147 feet, and Andy's is over 225 feet.  He is the real deal- The beauty of discus is age does not effect you as drastically  as it does the jumps and the sprints (I'll write about that anguish in another blog entry).

Andy attended the same high school as my friend 2-time Olympic silver medalist, Adam Nelson (my Facebook friend- that counts right?)  In fact, I met Andy through Adam-   So thanks for the contact Adam!

Jewish USA athletes in the 2012 London Olympics

I have been asked frequently who is Jewish for Team USA in the London Olympics.  Not all of the Israeli Athletes are Jewish including Donald Sanford.

Jason Lezak, 2009 Maccabiah Torch Lighter in Israel is back for his fourth and last Olympic run.  The 36-year-old swimmer is one of five captains for the 530-member American squad. Fellow Jews joining Jason on the USA Team at the London Games, include, gymnasts Alexandra Raisman (gold medal winner) and Julie Zetlin, swimmer Anthony Ervin, rower David Banks, fencer Tim Morehouse (fencing coach, Yury Gelman and the fencing announcer, Jeff Bukantz is Jewish as well.)

2009 Maccabi USA Flag Bearer, Jillian Schwartz, a pole vaulter on the American team at the 2004 Athens Olympics, will be representing Israel this time around.  Jillian is the only Jewish track athlete representing Israel at the Olympics.

With Olympic glory, there is always Olympic disappointments.  There were some heavily touted Jewish athletes that didn’t make the cut this time. They include swimmers Dara Torres (five Olympics, 12 medals), Garret Weber-Gale (two gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games), Andrea Murez (2012 NCAA champion in the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays), Daniel Madwed (2012 Big Ten champion in four events), Dustin Emrani, Deena Kastor, Eric Goucher and Eric Friedland. Also not heading to London to compete are soccer player Yael Averbuch and gymnast David Sender.

Track Star Melissa Perlman Features a Story on Rob Fellman and Maccabiah

A true heartfelt, "thank you" to State Champion, Melissa Perlman of BlueIvey Communications.  She wrote a terrific article for the Examiner.com.  The laudatory article will allow her readers to learn more about the Maccabiah Sport for Israel organization and how to participate.

Melissa has been taking the Public relations field in South Florida by storm.  She left her prominany position in Boca Raton to follow her dreams.  The former Florida State Champion in the Mile and Brown University Educated Perlman has been training and volunteering at her former high school to get back in shape.  She will be making a come-back in 2013 on the Maccabiah Half-marathon team.

Coach Rick Rothman (Maccabiah USA Juniors Track and Field Coach) has been mentoring and adivising his former student-athlete.  He feels she is back to her elite form with a couple of recent road race wins.  We look forward to following her progress at maccabiusa.com