Host city | Tel Aviv, Israel |
---|---|
Nations | 23[1] |
Debuting countries | Brazil Chile Rhodesia |
Athletes | 890 |
Events | 18 branches of sports[2] |
Opening | September 20, 1953 |
Closing | September 29, 1953[3] |
Opened by | Israeli President Itzhak Ben-Zvi |
Main venue | Ramat Gan Stadium |
Eight hundred ninety athletes representing 23 countries competed in the 1953 4th Maccabiah Games, held September 20 to 29, in 18 branches of sports.[1][4][2]
Israeli President Itzhak Ben-Zvi opened the Games at Ramat Gan Stadium in Tel Aviv District, in front of a crowd of 50,000.[1] American Olympic wrestling champion Henry Wittenburg carried the US flag for Team USA.[5] At the closing ceremony Prime Minister David Ben Gurion addressed the collected athletes, saying: "Come back to us for the next Maccabiah, and bring along representatives of Romania, Hungary, and Russia," as a crowd of 50,000 cheered.[3]