Israel will win 25 medals at the 2023 Special Olympics in Berlin

Thirty-four athletes with intellectual disabilities represented Israel in eight sports 2023 Special Olympics in Berlin. The team returned home with 25 medals, the most it has collected during its 30 years of participation in the Special Olympic Games.

This year, Israeli participants competed in athletics, judo, swimming, cycling, tennis, table tennis, soccer and bowling, paired with opponents based on their level of disability.

All in all, more than 7,000 athletes from 126 countries participated in this year’s Special Olympics from 17 to 25. June.

The 25 medals included nine gold, eight silver and eight bronze representing each event in which the team competed.

Several athletes earned more than one medal, including runner Ron Beck, 16, who captured gold in the men’s 3,000-meter run, silver in the 5,000-meter run and bronze in the 4×400-meter medley relay.

Mir Segel, the 100-meter freestyle gold medalist, said nothing could have prepared him for what it would be like to stand on the podium listening to Israel’s national anthem Hatikvah being sung in his honor.

Segel, 28, is a caretaker at the ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran Therapeutic Horse Stable, part of the Israeli Network for Rehabilitation Care for the Disabled. He is on the autism spectrum.

I overcame obstacles and people thought I was different, said Segel after his Special Olympics win. I succeeded, I was able to overcome my fears, achieve my goals and bring honor and pride to Israel. And it was fun!