Olympics Preview: Who are the Jews to watch in Tokyo?

From baseball to marathons, Jews are well represented at this year's Summer Games.
Japan National Stadium, in Tokyo, will be one of the sites of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. (Photo by Arne Müseler/Wikimedia Commons)

With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics starting this week, Jewish sports fans are abuzz with one question: Who’s representing the tribe? As it happens, there are plenty of promising Olympians with fascinating stories, from Argentine tennis phenom Diego Schwartzman to Jewish Japanese basketballer Avi Schafer and a whole lot of American and Canadian fencing stars—to say nothing of Israel’s contenders in marathon, judo and racewalking.

On this week’s episode of Menschwarmers, our Jewish sports podcast, hosts Jamie and Gabe are joined by Emily Burack, deputy managing editor of Alma, who has spent the last few months investigating and writing about Jewish Olympians from around the world.

Listen and subscribe above.

Relevant links:

Menschwarmers is hosted by James Hirsh and Gabe Pulver, and produced and edited by Michael Fraiman. Our intro music is by Coby Lipovitch, and our outro music is “Organ Grinder Swing” by chēēZ π. This show is a member of The CJN Podcast Network. Follow the Menschwarmers on Twitter and The CJN Podcast Network on Twitter and Facebook, or find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

Author

Support Our Mission: Make a Difference!

The Canadian Jewish News is now a Registered Journalism Organization (RJO) as defined by the Canada Revenue Agency. To help support the valuable work we’re doing, we’re asking for individual monthly donations of at least $10. In exchange, you’ll receive tax receipts, a thank-you gift of our quarterly magazine delivered to your door, and our gratitude for helping continue our mission. If you have any questions about the donating process, please write to [email protected].

Support the Media that Speaks to You

Jewish Canadians deserve more than social media rumours, adversarial action alerts, and reporting with biases that are often undisclosed. The Canadian Jewish News proudly offers independent national coverage on issues that impact our audience each day, as a conduit for conversations that bridge generations. 

It’s an outlet you can count on—but we’re also counting on you.

Please support Jewish journalism that’s creative, innovative, and dedicated to breaking new ground to serve your community, while building on media traditions of the past 65 years. As a Registered Journalism Organization, contributions of any size are eligible for a charitable tax receipt.