Israelis may have been disappointed by the performance of their
country’s Olympic athletes, but American Jews were collectively kvelling
at the showing of gymnast Alexandra Raisman, who was the undisputed
star.
Raisman, 18, a nice Jewish girl from Massachusetts
known by her nickname Aly, not only stunned spectators by grabbing one
of the two spots in the all-around individual finals for the U.S., but
she did it by performing a floor exercise routine to the tune of “Hava
Nagila.” Her win pushed her teammate - favorite Jordan Wieber - out of
the final and ‘sent shockwaves’ through the arena, vaulting her to the
new focus of the U.S. squad.
Raisman is certainly not the only gymnast to utilize
the catchy tune - it has been a favorite over the years and is a proven
crowd-pleaser with gymnastics fans. But she may very well be the first
Jewish gymnast to do so - and if all goes well and American hopes are
realized, she might be the first to ride the Hava Nagila train to an
Olympic medal.
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