From the mattress heroes, through the virtuoso gymnast to the coolers in the world's best leagues • We chose our decade-long athletes

Sagi Muki

Fell - and got up in the giant. Muki // Photo by Alan Shiber

Daniel Levy's selection: The choice of choice, no matter which category, probably depends on how much the athlete has achieved. The Moki of choice is actually based on failure - and on how the Judoka managed to get out of it.

Muki went to the last Olympics in Rio with a lot of expectations, but failed to get a medal when he came to a direct battle for the bronze. Muki and his coach, Oren Smadja, have drawn conclusions, changed his weight category and hence his ability has soared.

He won the European Championships held in Israel in 2018 and last summer was crowned World Champion in the Hall where he will compete in the upcoming Olympics. In addition to his achievements on the mat, Muki proved to be a wonderful social activist and ambassador to Israel, as he nurtured his relationship with Iranian judoka Said Mulay who defected from his country.

Or Kish's Choice: What's not to say about Sagi Muki, the Israeli judoka who won the 2019 World Championships and the European Championships in 2015 and 2018? Some have defined the young man from Netanya as the great promise of the judo since Eric Ze'evi and Oren Smadja, who has been training Muki since he was four years old.

One of Moki's memorable photos is the loss at the 2016 Rio Olympics in the battle for the bronze medal, where he faced off against the Georgian Batuashvili. Muki, who had sustained a back injury from the start of the tournament and was unclear if he would be able to contend with the fight, reached the semi-finals stage as stated, losing and falling down tears from the mattress. Sagi Moki signifies for me the determination and sacrifice, as well as the innocent beauty of the sport, also as a competitor in a sports industry that has not been popular for years.

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Alex Stilov

Continues to chase the dream. Shtilov // Photo: IP

Arya Shmukler's Choice: True, he doesn't have an Olympic medal yet, but don't teach Alex Statov what stability and toughness are. After doing so in Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016, the ground gymnast will try his luck this summer at the Tokyo Olympics, which will be his fourth in a row.

So unlike quite a few Israeli Olympic athletes who retired after producing, Tilov decided to continue pursuing the dream despite having long proved to be the most successful Israeli gymnast ever. Although Artium Dolgopyat is already emerging as the natural and potential heir, it seems that the pressure and career twilight only heightens Alex's never-ending hunger, which in the past decade has already worn six more prestigious European medals. An exemplary workman.

Omri Caspi

An impressive career in the best league in the world. Money from the Bank // Photo: AFP

Lee Resnick's choice: In a country where legionaries who are playing in China or Belgium are enthusiastic, we seem to have taken for granted that Omri Caspi has spent the last decade as an NBC player for everything.

The forward (31, 2.06m) was selected in the 2009 draft by Sacramento Kings in 23rd place and became the first Israeli to be selected in the first round in the draft, the first to receive a contract in the best league in the world and the first to play in it. Besides Sacramento, during the decade Caspi wore the uniforms of Cleveland, Houston, New Orleans, Minnesota, Golden State (from which he also has a souvenir championship ring) and Memphis.

He participated in 588 games, averaging 7.9 points (45.5 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from three), 4 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 20.3 minutes of play. Some players have failed to put such averages in our Premier League here in the Holy Land for the past decade, but beyond the numbers, while good and great players like Milos Theodosic, for example, are giving up the BBC's option after a few years and returning to Europe, the fact that Caspi has played in the league The best in the world for ten years - playing, not just surviving - is worth the Israeli athlete's title of the decade.

Oded Shalev's choice: Who would have thought we would see Israeli basketball in the NBA today? And another one that strengthens a long-standing career, gaining proper numbers and becoming a legitimate rotation player in the best and toughest league in the world? Israeli pride.

Intended for passion

The character of a warrior. Flame // Photo: IP

Shmulik Leopard's Choice: His first UFC fight ended in a blaze after 2:30 minutes, sprawled on the arena floor after her knees from which it is simply impossible to fight again. It was then that one could see that this guy had something special. Instead of sinking into a black bile, he got up immediately, gave a hug of respect to the winner and looked like a fighter who is already ready for the next fight.

Since then, stubborn ant-work has advanced to the top of the Warriors list and a 13: 3 balance in professional MMA battles, all of which he does under the media radar in the country and when he doesn't even get the exposure to the junior Olympic athletes. The passion doesn't matter, he didn't enter this business for glory. He's here just so he can fight another day.

Guy Sagiv

Opens the way for riders. Sagiv // Photo: Noa Arnon

Eli Stern's Choice: Guy Sagiv was the first Israeli to finish the Grand Tour race, breaking all 21 sections of the Giro D'Italia and entering the list where he starred for a whole year alone. There is no longer an athlete who has worked so hard in a competitive environment and unfortunately the achievement has not been sufficiently counted in the Dwarf State, which does not properly embrace the professional bike group born in the country during the decade.

Israel Academic Cycling and its owners, Silvan Adams and Ron Brown, have enabled Reag (and Guy Niv who retired in the first Giro but graduated in 2019) to fulfill a dream that they would have achieved if they had not achieved an Israeli elite group.

Sagiv did not become a superstar after finishing 141 out of 149 who survived the gyro, but his appearance is a huge opening for young riders who know that Israelis can also succeed in one of the toughest, most challenging and beautiful sports ever to offer. The task over the next decade is simple - to see an Israeli conducting a segment in the Tour de France.

Avishay Smolar

Breaking conventions on the handball court. Smaller // Photo: Oded Karni

Dean Samuel Elms' Choice: Few Israeli athletes lined up for their industry, making their fans fantasize about new dreams, breaking all conventions on the path to fulfilling their own dream. Whoever did it is Avishay Smolar. Admittedly, the breakthrough in being the first Israeli athlete in the best league in the world, the Bundesliga, he has already done in the previous decade - and yet what he has done in the last decade is phenomenal.

In 2010, Smaller joined Lemgo, then a top German group, and qualified with them until the semi-finals of the holding cup. Feeling he was going to "go back", he went back in style and returned to his home club that operates Rishon LeZion. It is no coincidence that in the six years leading up to his retirement he has won three championships and three National Cups, as beyond the tremendous talent "housed" in Winner's character traits. Seeing that he reached the top of his career, with Double in the 2017-2018 season, he just decided to retire at 32 years old.

Winners need new peaks - and in sports they no longer have one. Israeli handball as a rule and Hapoel Rishon Lezion in particular failed to appreciate the gospel brought by Avishay Smolar to the industry and to the club. There was no retirement game and not even shirt retirement. In fact, in Israeli sports - apparently - this is not surprising.