18th Maccabiah

18th Maccabiah

לגעת ברגעים גדולים Touched by Greatness
Host city	Tel Aviv
Nations participating	55
Debuting countries	Grenada  Kazakhstan  Palau  Slovenia  Uzbekistan
Athletes participating	9,000
Opening ceremony	July 12, 2009
Closing ceremony	July 24, 2009
Officially opened by	Jason Lezak
Main venue	Ramat Gan Stadium
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The 2009 Maccabiah Games (Hebrew: המכביה ה-18 ישראל תשס"ט‎). the 18th incarnation of the Maccabiah Games, were held in July 2009. According to the organizing committee these were the largest games held yet. These Games were the world's fifth-largest sporting event, behind the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, World Police and Fire Games, and Universiade. On the 13th of July, more than 6,000 Jewish athletes from all over the world joined Team Israel's 3,000 participants at the Ramat Gan Stadium in Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv District, Israel, for the opening ceremony.

The American delegation arrived two weeks prior to the games to hold practice sessions at a cost of more than two and a half million dollars.

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.

Greco-Roman wrestler Lindsey Durlacher was the flagbearer for the US, and Olympic pole vaulter Jillian Schwartz was one of the US banner bearers. US Olympic champion swimmer Jason Lezak won four gold medals, while setting four Maccabiah records, and was named the most outstanding male athlete of the Games. American basketball player Dan Grunfeld led the US Open Men's Basketball team to a gold medal over Israel. American Max Fried, who in 2017 became a major league baseball player with the Atlanta Braves, won a gold medal with the Team USA Juniors baseball team.

Israeli champion Laetitia Beck won an individual gold medal and a team gold medal in golf at the Games. Israeli swimmer Amit Ivry won a gold medal in the Women's 100m butterfly.