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Senior Olympics in Israel Demonstrate Commitment to Healthy Lifestyle
Defying Israel’s only rain in weeks, 40 senior athletes raced 10 km, crossing the finish line smiling. "It’s because of the rain — it made me run faster!" said third-place winner Netana, a 63-year-old from Australia, when asked how she managed to beat her time from last year and come in first among all women. She was outpaced only by "gold medalist" Michel, 63, who came in at 43.30.75 minutes, and Daniel, who finished in 47.42.80 minutes. Zvi, 79, led his age category (75-80), improving his standing from the 2004 games. This year’s competition was particularly emotional for Zvi, whose grandson was killed in a terrorist attack during his army service some months ago. "He is determined to maintain a healthy lifestyle and continue to take care of himself," remarked one of the onlookers.
Officially known as "SABA" — the Hebrew word for grandfather as well as the acronym for Sport, Health, Quality of Life — the Senior Olympic Games has become an annual event that receives wide television and newspaper coverage and lures participation from hundreds of active elderly in Israel. More than 350 seniors ranging in age from 60-94 years showed their determination in maintaining a healthy lifestyle on November 7th and 8th. The two-day event was co-sponsored by JDC, the Municipality of Jerusalem and the Association of Community Centers. "SABA was created to highlight the positive side of aging and to enhance the general image of elderly in Israel," said JDC spokesman Mr.Berkman. A study released earlier this year by the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute found that Jews have the world's highest proportion of senior citizens. More than 11 percent of all Israelis are at least 65 years old. Working with this population, JDC-ESHEL project — a partnership between JDC and the Government of Israel — has established itself as one of the world's top innovators in developing services that allow senior citizens to live vigorously, independently and with dignity. In addition to the distance run, the Senior Olympic Games comprised other track and field competitions — a 100m dash, a 3 km run, a 5 km walk — and technical sports such as javelin, discus and iron ball throws. Other events included cycling, swimming, tennis, and table tennis. "This year an effort was made to include team sports — lawn bowls and petanque (French bowling) — in the competition, and we intend to encourage the proliferation of these sports throughout the country during the year," said an JDC-ESHEL representative. The oldest participant in this year’s Senior Games was Yafe, who played lawn bowls. He received an award as well as a computer program called Mindfit 50+, which is designed to train and preserve cognitive skills. Yafe, who uses his computer daily, said "I can’t wait to try it out!" February 2006 |
