Arik Zeevi
Judai
Olympic bronze medalist (Athens 2004), world runner-up, four-time European champion and Israeli judo champion.
Chairman of the 21st Maccabiah
(July 26-12)
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Arik Zeevi, your mother said in the past that she did not think she would succeed. She described you as a frenetic kid who only relaxed when he got on the mat in the judo class. Over the years, your success seems pretty coincidental.
"If I did not have a judo hall near the house, you will know what sport I would finish in. I did not start in judo to become a champion, but because I was a naughty boy and there I released energies. Is the success coincidental? Almost every accomplished Olympic athlete is in his industry by chance. "There are so many coincidences in Israel that an athlete stands on the podium. If Linoy Ashram had lived elsewhere, she probably would not have finished artistic gymnastics. There is no method here like in the United States or Europe."
Are you saying that almost any achievement here is accidental?
"Two coincidences: reaching an industry that suits you and the coach that is not holiday, and then succeeding and surviving the training period in childhood, until reaching the national team level, where the level of coaches is higher."
In terms of the medal index per capita and per the national gross expenditure - our situation is bad.
"We are very bad. We were 89 in the world before Tokyo, now we have improved to 83 in the world, a lower place than the football team we like to slander. Full of striped talent here. When it comes to teams then our percentages are relatively beautiful, but by and large - the situation is very dismal."
What method is required here?
"Start work in elementary schools and locate potential athletes, pass them gifted tests, build them and direct them to the industry that suits them. You also need to find girls for suitable industries, because in Israel girls do not often go to sports, and if so it is more feminine - artistic gymnastics, swimming In the US, for example, football is the most popular sport among girls.
The periphery is also important.
And the point is to allow them a broad physiological stimulus up to seventh grade.
Studies show that experience in different sports - running, jumping, throwing - is important for their development. "
You yourself are a coach, and part of a rather small group of personal medal winners at the Olympics. Does the state and other public bodies make enough use of your experience? Does the state give you proper treatment?
"An Olympic medalist in Israel buys his world. A judo medalist from Germany does not become a consensus, and does not receive fat grants. In Israel, I think it is a bit excessive."
"Low sports culture, alongside love for it."
Riders in Tel Aviv, Photo: Gideon Markowitz
Explain.
"In Israel, an Olympic medal is a bit out of proportion. In my opinion, the achievements of Lee Korzitz, who is a four-time world champion, are greater than an Olympic medal that she does not have because she was ill. Too much. I knew Jews in the world that I would not let them run the neighborhood grocery store. They are super-talented physically and mentally, but they have no special knowledge.
"Beyond that, there is no mechanism in Israeli sports. If Uri Sasson retires and wants to include him in a coaching position in the Judo Association, he has a very specific position - national team coach, cadets or alumni. This is also the case in athletics. So it is difficult to include athletes in the system. We are starting private initiatives, we are opening private clubs. "
Is it true that these private initiatives, good as they may be, will come from below and not on behalf of the state?
"That's not true. When you talk about the athletes' peak, Israeli sports are managed in the best way possible. NIS 3-2 million a year was invested in Linoy Ashram and Sagi Muki. They have a wide professional team, they do not pay for flights. This is not the case in other countries. ".
But when you look down, that's not the case.
"At the age of children and youth there is complete chaos. Most Israeli sports are organized by private classes. You send a child to the class, the coach tries to make a living and not really try to make him a champion. There is a big vacuum in achievement sports at children and youth, and no one takes responsibility.
schools? And to the Olympics?
"The Olympic Committee, one might rightly say, is responsible for the Olympic preparations and has taken a step back. It has youth staff but that's not the basis. And the schools? "Types of sports. How does he know how to teach handball or basketball if he came from athletics? At a young age, sports do not exist."
Library Yes, but no
You said that athletes at the top are rewarded, but the budget of the Olympic Committee for 2022 fell by 16 percent compared to last year, to NIS 28.7 million.
"I am not involved in the budget of the Olympic Committee. I can say that an Olympic athlete is not limited in his sponsors, and today we are in a renaissance in this respect. The senior Olympic athletes you know earn 30, 40, 50 and 60 thousand shekels a month. With a few thousand shekels, and still - in relation to other countries our situation is good in this matter. In the US - an Olympic athlete does not receive a shekel from the country.
For an Olympic medal alone, he receives a $ 100,000 grant.
But in high school and college - he is under the best coaches and shell in the world.
And under these conditions you are supported by the community, and you have sponsors. "
Tokyo Judo Team, Photo: Reuters
Professionally, if you had the option to choose where to raise your athletic children, at any point on the globe, would you choose Israel?
"In a professional, unequivocal section, I would not really choose Israel. The United States, for example, is the right country to raise an athlete.
Sports are built there through schools.
Every athlete knows that even if he does not make it to the Olympics, he must find the industry in which he will be the best, in order to receive a scholarship for higher education.
That's how young people come to study in the Ivy League. "
Continuing with the previous question, I assume that Israel was not in your first ten elections either.
"True, not even in the first 20. In Israel, the sports culture is very low today, and I'm also talking about facilities. In the United States, the facility is the basis.
A sports and athletics hall was also built in each school. It's as basic as building a library. You would not imagine building a school without a computer room and a library, so why would you build without a sports hall?
In Israeli culture, sport is in last place.
On the other hand, there is a love for sports in Israel.
Especially the adult amateurs do sports - riders, runners.
"Our pyramid is upside down, instead of it starting from the base and seeping in, the beginning is from above and we hope it will seep in."
To overthrow the Judo Association?
Do you agree that although there is no real sports culture in Israel, there is a judo culture?
"When I started, it was strange to say that you practice judo. But over the years there has been a change. It is a cheap and accessible industry, you just need space. Because of its accessibility, many Israeli children go through it. In addition, judo is a fighting industry, "It fits the Israeli mentality. You can atone for a lot of technical gaps thanks to the fighting spirit. You will add our medals to these things, and you will get a situation where almost every young athlete wants to be an Olympic medalist. It seems possible. The Russian aliyah also contributed to the correct methodology and construction."
Was the last win at the Olympics a success, or did we lose proportions?
"The medal was happy, because it came after a less good performance in the individual competition. But despite what has been said - no athlete on the team really thinks he is an Olympic medalist because he won a fight or two. Even though some of them say it, they do not go around feeling that way. To that, honestly, no one really thinks we are one of the four best countries in the world in judo.
"The last medal did show that there was depth, but it also obscured the lack of success in the individual competition. They were busy celebrating, but the question that had to be asked is how such a good team did not come back with a personal medal. If I were honest with myself as a coach, I would say something in Tokyo "It didn't work. Don't forget that in the team competition we were one battle away from being eliminated in the first round against Italy. What Gili Sharir did there was amazing, but it could have easily ended in a fiasco."
Are you worried about the future of the team at the next Olympics?
"The women's team gave a pretty good performance in the Olympics, they just weren't in the men's position yet. Now, a year ahead, they are in that position and brought four medals at the European Championships. After Jordan Jerby's retirement the vacuum was filled and there is continuity.
"In men, on the other hand, a vacuum is created. Baruch Shmailov is 28, followed by Matan Kokulaev, 21. There are seven years without any high-level athletes, and that raises question marks. When you look at younger ages, there are talents. "Still quality. Peter Placzyk, Baruch Shmailov, Tohar Botbol and Sagi Muki are still candidates for the medal. The question is what will happen the day after Paris, and the question is how big will be the vacuum they will leave behind."
Why are you not part of the judo team today?
"I coached the youth team as soon as I retired. I did not believe I would enjoy coaching young people so much. My job is over - everyone knows the story, for reasons not the most professional. But it took a long time and it opened up an option for me to coach children, and I'm happy about that."
Say you're trying to overthrow the Judo Association.
"If you notice, the main sponsor of the European Championship held in Israel was the Bank of Jerusalem, of which I am the presenter. They asked me for my blessing on the championship, and I had no problem failing it. But I'm not there. The best way to prove someone wrong is simple. Move on".
Celebrate with the Israelis
Let's talk about the 21st Maccabiah, which will open on July 12. You first competed in it when you were 16. Did it leave an impact on your career?
"I won a bronze there, and it was an exciting competition for me. At a young age, the impact of this competition is very strong, especially since there were no international competitions in Israel at the time."
In the past you said you were not taken seriously here.
"I'm hitting a sin here. In competitive sports, there are industries where the level is high - swimming, basketball, ice hockey. But in the past I did not understand enough that the Maccabiah is beyond sports competitions. It is an international event. Think you would host 30,000 hitchhikers in the country. "60 percent of the participants will visit Israel for the first time. 5 percent of them will make aliyah. People did not understand the meanings, and the Maccabiah was also to blame for not connecting this celebration to the Israeli audience. This time we decided to harness the Israelis to the celebration as well."
Is there a need for Maccabiah in terms of sports today?
"In some industries, yes, such that the Maccabiah is their biggest competition: squash, for example. But at the end of the day, the sport is the platform - how else will it bring 30,000 Jews here?"
This year, the Maccabiah will be hosted for the first time since its founding in a non-Jewish city - Dalit al-Carmel. Is there an intention to expand this hospitality trend?
"The goal is for all of Israel to experience the sporting celebration. This is a competition for the Jewish world, but in Israel non-Jews also compete. In fact, anyone with an Israeli ID card can compete and 20-15 percent of the athletes who represent Israel are not Jews.
For me it is blessed.
We will cooperate with any authority you want and set up a proper facility. "
Zionist platform.
Maccabiah Opening Ceremony, 2017, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
The line-up artists of the opening ceremony are quite impressive - Hanan Ben Ari, Static and Ben El, Eden Ben Zaken and Tamir Greenberg. Wasn't it worth spending some of that money on more sports infrastructure, more salary for coaches?
"Thorough work was done in preparation for Maccabiah. In surveys we conducted, almost every athlete noted that the opening ceremony is the most significant experience for him. This is their entry into the event and a show is required here. About eight million shekels were invested in the opening ceremony, and that includes everything The budget from the opening ceremony was a significant impact, and regardless, a budget was upgraded to upgrade facilities. "
Finally, what do you think about the fact that due to the war in Ukraine, athletes from Russia will not participate in the Games this year due to the decision of the international federations?
"We said that every Jew in the world who wants to compete can do so, including Jews from Russia. The point is that Maccabi Russia itself will not participate this time. There is a delegation of immigrants who immigrated to Israel, and have not yet joined the national team. "It was very difficult for him to train all my life, and one occupation or another would have prevented me from competing. It sounds imaginary to me. I understand that the country should be punished, but not the athlete himself."
For suggestions and comments: Ranp@israelhayom.co.il
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