The Olympics only began three days ago, but back in Israel the commentators have already begun eulogizing the Israeli delegation with their unoriginal, prepared criticisms of our athletes' performances. As if someone actually expected judoka Tommy Arshanksi or swimmer Nimrod Shapira Bar-Or (with all due respect) to win a medal, or even sharpshooter Sergei Richter or swimmer Gal Nevo, who finished in the top 10 in the world and certainly can't be considered a disappointment. The heads of the Israeli delegation at the Olympic Village, meanwhile, were still crossing their fingers primarily for our most promising events windsurfing, and gymnastics. Israeli gymnast Alex Shatilov, even more so than reigning bronze medalist windsurfer Shahar Tzuberi and back to back world champion windsurfer Lee Korzits, is perhaps the greatest hope remaining for Israel. After the first day of the games, Shatilov qualified for two finals the floor exercise and the all-around competition. His best chances are in the floor exercise, but on Wednesday (6:30 p.m. Israel time) he'll give the all-around competition his best shot. "In 2008 I was very young and I wanted to save my strength and energy for the real thing, which is, as far as I'm concerned, the floor exercise," explained Shatilov. "But this time around I feel much more ready and prepared, so obviously I'm going to try in both finals." And on Tuesday at Weymouth, where the windsurfing competition is held, good news indeed emerged upon completion of the event's first leg. Tzuberi didn't rank among the top finishers, but Korzits opened her Olympic campaign on a strong note by taking advantage of the brisk winds in the area, which play to her strengths. The two-time world champion didn't buckle under the immense pressure placed on her shoulders and began her race almost perfectly by winning the first race and finishing third in the second race on her way to a second overall ranking after the first day. Tzuberi, who unlike Korzits prefers weaker winds, indeed struggled on the first day, finishing in 12th place after the first race and in eighth place after the second race for an overall ranking of 10th after the first day. Korzits's good news helped balance the mood after judoka Alice Schlezinger's disappointing performance. Schlezinger, ranked fourth in the world, came into the competition with hopes of returning home with a medal. And even though she "only" had to win three matches to reach the medal podium, she only won one and finished seventh. To her credit, it must be noted that she fought with an elbow injury that required a shot before leaving the locker room. "I'm very disappointed, I felt like I could win a medal and it ended like this," said Schlezinger. "At least I know I gave it all I had. I lost to the second and fifth ranked judokas in the world and we saw that even the top ranked [judoka] was eliminated. The crowd was amazing and gave me a huge push. It gives me motivation and the desire to make it to the 2016 Olympics in Rio."
