Youth on show in US
A DELEGATION of young Australian basketball players and swimmers arrived in Dallas, Texas this week for the 2015 JCC Maccabi Games, with the green-and-gold participants starting off with a bang on day one of competition.
After the long-haul flight, a vibrant opening ceremony that featured Olympian and former JCC Games athlete Lenny Krazelburg and settling into their host families, the kids were raring to get underway despite the Texan heat.
Competing against teams from a variety of American cities, as well as international delegations from Panama, Israel and Mexico, the Aussies have already picked up seven medals in the pool and were three wins from four games on the basketball court as The AJN went to press.
Isabella Coghlan, 13, and Judd Katz, also 13, both won gold on day one, with Coghlan touching first in the girls’ age 12-14 500-yard (497m) freestyle, while Katz was victorious in the boys’ age 12-14 200-yard (183m) breastroke.
Katz also took out silver in the boys’ age 12-14 500-yard freestyle.
Jared Elbourne (bronze), Jesse Nissen (silver and bronze) and Samuel Penkin (bronze) were the other Aussie medalists on day one in the pool.
An Under-14 and Under-16 team is representing Maccabi Australia on the basketball court, and doing it with pride, having already beaten some strong American squads.
Coached by Max Kausman, the Under-16s were defeated by Baltimore 52-16 in game one, before they rebounded with a resounding 52-32 victory over Houston.
The Under-14s have had even better luck, with the Jarred Kieser-coached side smashing Houston Silver 72-20, before crushing Mexico 59-27.
The 2015 JCC Maccabi Games continue until August 7 in Dallas, whereupon the Aussie delegation will travel for a second-leg of competition in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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