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Swimming / Beijing on his mind By Raphael Ahren The die has not yet been cast for Max Jaben, the American-born swimmer who was suspended from the Israeli Olympic team after failing a steroid test earlier this month. An Israeli Swimming Association tribunal Tuesday night didn't make any final decision, and the 22-year-old, who asserts his innocence, is still hopeful he'll be allowed to compete at the games this August in Beijing. Jaben has learned that good things sometimes really come only to those who wait: When he first decided three years ago to move to Israel, the Jewish Agency denied his immigration application. Advertisement "I filled out all the forms, and I had a lot of different issues," he remembered while sitting in the cafeteria of the Sports Hotel at the Wingate Institute for Physical Education and Sport near Netanya this week. "First I had to send my passport to them to get my visa. Then they send it back, because it was about to expire in the next couple of months, so I had to get a new passport. Then they denied me [citizenship]. I was never given a proper answer to why that happened." Wearing black Armani glasses and a white T-shirt with the logo of the Jerusalem swim club he represents, Jaben mused about how he fell in love with Israel and how his eventual move here has changed his life. The first time he set foot in Israel was during the 2005 Maccabiah. But it wasn't so much the athletic competition that attracted him. "I went to the beach and I saw all the Israeli teenagers and kids my age on the beach playing," he said. "We went to Herzliya and everyone was so relaxed - it was almost like in Southern California, just all the kids around me were Jewish. Growing up in Kansas City, I'm not used to this." After Jaben's initial attempt failed, the idea of immigrating died down. At least until an Israeli friend persuaded him to compete at the Israeli national championships last summer. "I decided at that competition that I am moving here," he said. The decision was "apart from sports," but he did also think of his career. "As a top-level swimmer, you could have more success in Israel," he said. Did he move because it would be easier here than in America to qualify for Beijing? "Yeah, of course it crossed my mind," he responded. "The Olympics are always on my mind, but I wouldn't say it was exactly a motive of me moving to Israel. Maybe it gave me a little push, or a little hope." If Jaben will now be disqualified from the Games, he might finally be able to devote some time to things most immigrants deal with as soon as they arrive. Because he spends most of the day with his head under water, he still doesn't know whether he'll have to serve in the Israel Defense Forces. He hasn't gotten that far yet, he said. But that doesn't mean he is a draft dodger. "If the army is what I'll have to do to compete here in Israel," he said, "then that's what I will do. I understand in Israel you go to the army when you are at this age, so that's something I am waiting for to see what's going to happen." Jaben has also yet to attend an ulpan. That's something he'll have to do "when swimming slows down," he said. If he doesn't get rid of the allegations - for now all he is willing to say is that there are "possible explanations" for the anabolic steroid boldenone found in his urine - this might happen rather soon. "If I am not going to compete in Beijing, I'll probably try not to think too much about Beijing," he said calmly. "I'll watch it to support my teammates, but it's going to be a hard situation for me. On the other hand, I'm still optimistic that I'll be there." Bookmark to del.icio.us   Former top spy speaks Ex-Mossad chief Halevy says a strike on Iran would affect Israel for 100 years. Trying Hitler Did a light sentence in a Munich trial pave the way for Hitler's rise to power?

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