Gymnasts help Israel exit Games on a positive note

BEIJING - The 29th Olympic Games closed Sunday, but not before the final medal competitions were held, involving six Israelis. While the oldest member of Israel's delegation had an off day, some of its youngest members did the country proud with a relatively good finish in rhythmic gymnastics, albeit falling short of a medal.

The final Israeli to have his day in the sun also finished among the last. Haile Satayin placed 69th out of 76 who completed the marathon, with a time of 2:30.07.

"I have problems in my legs. They feel heavy. The problems started a week before I returned to Israel [from Ethiopia] and before I left for here," said Satayin, continuing the tradition of excuses among the Israeli delegation.

It could have been worse: 19 racers did not even make the finish line. "I didn't want to quit," Satayin added, sounding much like Itay Magidi after running the 3,000-meter steeplechase. "Now I'll take care of the injury, rest and get back to training. I must be ready and healthy for next year's world championship."

Yes, Satayin, who is officially 53, but claims to be 46, isn't retiring. At most, he's taking a break and might even try for London 2012.

An hour after he finished the race, Israel's rhythmic gymnastic team began their final. Identical scores of 16.050 in the ropes event, and hoops and clubs event earned the team sixth place, matching its finish in the last world championship.

"All the training, the pain and the tears were worth it," said team member Katarina Pisetsky. "Sixth place is higher than we expected."

Steve Klein adds:

Overall, Israel finished the Games tied for 81st place, with Afghanistan, Egypt, Moldova, Mauritius, Togo and Venezuela. But, considering Israel's population - 96th in the world - the country did relatively well. The country did even better in terms of its demography, placing 63rd with a ratio of 7.3 million people per medal. China may have won the most gold, but its ratio was 13.1 million per medal. Australia was the most impressive in the top 10 overall winners: 460,000 residents per medal.