Ma’ayan Zakheim, who attends Berman Hebrew Academy, was in Israel to play women’s 18 and under basketball at the Maccabiah Games.
“We won the gold medal,” the 17-year-old said. “We beat Israel in the championship game and went undefeated in the tournament.”
Ma’ayan said that, in addition to the wins, the opening ceremony was her favorite part of the experience. “It was an honor to represent my country on such a huge stage in Israel in front of so many thousands of athletes and fans.”
She added, “As the only observant member of my team it was a great opportunity to share Shabbat with my teammates, and it was fun to be the designated Hebrew speaker/translator at restaurants and in taxis.”
