Watching the Gold Medal Ceremony

Watching the gold

medal ceremony for Gal Fridman was a truly surreal experience.

As the Israeli flag was raised and the national anthem, the

Hatikva,

played, all of the Israelis in the crowd sang the words. And it did

not

matter that they sang completely out of pace with the music – this was

Gal’s – and Israel’s – moment.

As I watched Gal standing on the podium, I had

two principal thoughts:

1. I am so proud of him, and of Israel!

2. Boy, doesn’t he look like a cross between

a young Ray

Romano and Jerry

Seinfeld! 

And speaking of pride, what other emotion can convey how I

feel about Gal for this:

After crossing the finish line,

Fridman pumped his fist, took

a

victory dip and then wrapped himself in an Israeli flag when he

emerged

from the water. Later, he promised to take

his

gold medal to the memorial in Tel Aviv for the 11 Israeli athletes and

coaches killed after being seized by a Palestinian terrorist group at

the 1972 Munich Games.

(Photo courtesy of Reuters)

About the Author

An Australian immigrant to Israel, Aussie Dave has been blogging since early 2003.

Filed Under: General

Tags: Olympic Games