17th Maccabiah
The Moment to Love
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| Nations participating | 55 | ||
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| Debuting countries |
 Cyprus Macedonia Luxembourg
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| Athletes participating | 7,700 | ||
| Events | 100 | ||
| Opening city | Ramat Gan | ||
| Opening ceremony | July 11, 2005 | ||
| Closing ceremony | July 21, 2005 | ||
| Officially opened by | Gal Fridman | ||
| Main venue | National Stadium | ||
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The 2005 Maccabiah Games (Hebrew: המכביה ה-17 ישראל תשס"ה), held in Israel, were the 17th incarnation of the 'Jewish Olympics.' They attracted the largest attendance of any Maccabiah Games, including more than 900 representatives from the United States, almost 500 from Australia, and more than 2,000 from Israel, bringing the total participants to more than 7,700 from 55 countries.
Israel ended the games at the top of the medal count with 228 gold medals. The United States was second with 71 gold medals, while Russia came in third with 15.
The Maccabiah Games were first held in 1932. In 1961, they were declared a "Regional Sports Event" by, and under the auspices and supervision of, the International Olympic Committee.
Vadim Gutzeit of Ukraine, an Olympic gold medal winner in team sabre, won gold medals in individual and team sabre. Two-time Olympic gold medal winner Sergey Sharikov of Russia won the silver medal in sabre. In fencing, two-time Pan American Games gold medalist Dan Kellner won the silver medal in foil for the US.
In women's tennis, Sharon Fichman of Canada won the gold medal at the age of 14, and also won a bronze medal in the women’s doubles, and a silver medal in mixed doubles.
In women's basketball, Shay Doron, who two years later signed with the WNBA New York Liberty, led the USA to a 5–0 record and a gold medal, and was selected Maccabiah MVP.
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