The former coach of the Israeli national rhythmic gymnastics team, Ira Vigdorchik, has been appointed coach of the Russian squad and will prepare it for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

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Vigdorchik, 57, is already in Moscow, having signed a contract with Irina Viner, head coach of the Russian national team and president of the Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation.

Having drawn conclusions from last summer's performances at the Tokyo Olympics, in which the Russian national team came in second after Bulgaria, Viner decided that Vigdorchik was best suited for restoring the Russia's standing in the industry.

Russia perceived the silver medal as a great failure, especially since in the individual event, Russian gymnast Dina Averina also came in second after Israel's Linoy Ashram.

Ashram's victory caused opposition from Russia, which reached even the government halls in Moscow, with a condemnation issued by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

For Vigdorchik, who led the Israeli gymnastics team to 6th place in the finals in Tokyo, this is a prestigious appointment.

In Israel, she was let go following the Tokyo Olympics due to a strained relationship with team members and controversial remarks.

Next year, Israel is slated to host the European Rhythmic Gymnastics in Tel Aviv, at which the Russian team under Vigdorchik is scheduled to compete.

The Israel Gymnastics Federation said in a statement, "We thank Ira for her contribution over the years and wish her success in the future."

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The entire world is poised for the Tokyo Olympics closing ceremony to take place Sunday evening. When the games began slightly more than two weeks ago, not even Japan was thrilled about having to host the games in the middle of a global pandemic. And while one might debate whether it was wise of the International Committee to go forward with the competition during the coronavirus, this year's games will undoubtedly go down as one of the most unique in Olympic history.

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For Israel, in particular, this year's competition was a clear success.

First off, Israel sent its largest-ever delegation to the games in 2021. More than 80 athletes competed in surfing, judo, track and field, taekwondo, swimming, gymnastics, baseball, and for the first time, arching. 

Israeli Olympian Avishag Samberg scored the Jewish state its first medal on July 24, winning the bronze in taekwondo. On July 31, the mixed judo team brought Isreal it's second bronze medal.

On August 1, Artem Dolgopyat made history, winning Israel's first Olympic gold medal in artistic gymnastics in the men's floor exercise final at Ariake Gymnastics Center in Tokyo. And on Aug. 7, powerhouse rhythmic gymnast Linoy Ashram won the gold medal in the rhythmic gymnastics individual competition, ending Russia's decades-long dominance in the sport and bringing Israel its second Olympic gold medal.

Women, in particular, sent a powerful message in this year's games.  They set records everyone saw coming and others that surprised the experts. Over nine days at the near-empty Olympic Stadium, the women of track and field delivered a memorable show, both inside the lines and out.

Theirs was a sport in need of a good boost, not only because of the year-long delay sparked by the virus, but because no matter when they returned, Usain Bolt would no longer draw eyes to the track simply by showing up.

These women – Sifan Hassan, Sydney McLaughlin, Elaine Thompson-Herah, Raven Saunders and Allyson Felix – delivered a series of inspiring performances and messages that showed the heart of their sport was still beating strong.

Some highlights included:

Hassan, an Ethiopian-born Dutch middle- and long-distance runner, and her unrelenting journey toward three medals – two gold and one bronze – in three of the longest races held on the track.

She started with gold in the 5,000 meters, then came back with bronze in the 1,500. She closed the show Saturday with a gold-medal run in the 10,000 – one in which her vision was so clouded by exhaustion that she admitted she could not see the finish line.

"I'm so happy," she said after the odyssey – six races over eight nights covering 65 laps and 24 kilometers – was finally complete "I'm relieved. I'm finished. I can sleep."

McLaughlin, an American hurdler and sprinter, whose back-and-forth duals in the 400-meter hurdles with US teammate Dalilah Muhammad reached a crescendo at the Olympics.

It was a race that had been much-anticipated and all but preordained to again reset the world record that one or the other had broken in three previous showdowns.

And they lived up to the hype. McLaughlin lowered her own mark to 51.46 seconds. Just as impressively, Muhammad's silver-medal time of 51.58 would have been a world record, too.

"I think it's two athletes wanting to be their best," McLaughlin said, "and knowing there's another great girl who's going to help you get there."

The sprinters were fast through the leadup to the Olympics, so it wasn't all that surprising to see that pace keep going in Tokyo.

But while most of the pre-Games buzz went to Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (100) and American Gabby Thomas (200), each of whom briefly staked their claim as the second-fastest women in history at their respective distances, it was Jamaican sprinter Thompson-Herah who wound up there in the end.

After a slow start to the season because of an Achilles injury, Thompson-Herah swept the 100 and 200 sprints for the second straight time. One more like that and she'll match Bolt.

She ran the 200 in 21.53 and set the Olympic record in the 100: 10.61 seconds. Though that record might not be the most formidable of the marks Florence Griffith Joyner set a generation ago, in 1988, it had been around every bit as long.

Flo Jo's world records of 10.49 and 21.34 still stand. But for how long?

"By the Olympic finish, I'll probably see what I've done," said Thompson-Herah, who at 29, assures us she is not done yet. "At this moment, I'm just a normal girl."

The story of US track and field athlete Saunders was inspiration for anyone who has been overlooked or left behind. The Black, gay American shot putter started wearing "Incredible Hulk" masks to the field – a way of projecting her fierce competitive spirit, but also a lighter side underneath.

After she received her silver medal, Saunders crossed her arms and formed an "X" on the medals stand. "The intersection of where all people who are oppressed meet," she explained.

It was the sort of message many believe should not only be tolerated, but embraced, when Olympic athletes get their all-too-short time in the spotlight. The IOC, which after much debate and discussion over the past two years still chose to ban such demonstrations, said it would look into it. Any probe was set aside when Saunders' mother died unexpectedly only hours after she won the medal.

And Felix closed the show.

For five Olympics spanning 16 – make that 17 – years, she was epitome of class and speed. At 35 years old, she called it a career, but not without doing what she does better than any runner alive: Winning medals.

Her bronze in the 400 and gold in the 4x400 relay gave her 11. She now has more than any track athlete in history, save a Finnish distance runner, Paavo Nurmi, who won 12 between 1920 and 1928.

Felix has more to do. Since having her baby, Cammy, in 2018 she has transformed herself into one of the most outspoken advocates for women in sports.

"I feel like it's definitely been a journey for me to get to the point where I guess I had the courage to do so," Felix said.

She earned the platform with two decades of racing in which she won some, and lost some, and kept on coming back for more.

Now, it's time to see who takes her place.

Earlier in the meet, someone asked Muhammad, what she thought about all this women's dominance at the track – of America's seven gold medals in track and field, they won five.

"Women do it better," she quipped.

After watching them conquer records, overcome obstacles and make their messages heard over nine days and nights at the Olympic track, it was hard to say she was wrong.

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US gymnast Simone Biles, who amazed the world on Tuesday when she decided to pull out of the team all-around competition on Tuesday due to mental strain, costing the US team a gold medal, has decided to forgo the final individual all-around event, she announced Wednesday.

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USA Gymnastics published a message on Twitter explaining that "After further medical evaluation, Simon Biles has withdrawn from the final individual all-around competition. We wholeheartedly support Simone's decision and applaud her bravery in prioritizing her well-being."

Biles will be replaced by Jade Carey, who placed ninth in the qualifications.

International Olympic Committee spokesperson Mark Adams had said earlier on Wednesday the IOC has "huge respect and support" for Biles.

Adams said mental health remained a big issue and that it was a matter the organization had been working on for some time.

IOC President Thomas Bach was seen in deep conversation with Biles on the floor of the Ariake Gymnastics Centre on Tuesday before handing out medals.

Biles was to appear in all six gymnastics event finals and a sweep of the gold medals would have given her 10, making her the most accomplished woman Olympian in any sport.

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The team's outfits looked similar to the others in the room as the arena lights gleamed off crystals crisscrossing their chests and down their crimson and white sleeves.

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But the German gymnastics team's new Olympic suits didn't stop at their hips.

For decades, female gymnasts have worn bikini-cut leotards. In qualifying on Sunday, however, the German team instead wore unitards that stretched to their ankles, intending to push back against the sexualization of women in gymnastics.

The Tokyo Olympics are the first Summer Games since Larry Nassar, a former USA Gymnastics national team doctor, was sent to prison for 176 years for sexually abusing hundreds of gymnasts, including some of the sport's greatest stars. At his sentencing, athletes – some of them Olympians – described how the sport's culture allowed for abuse and objectification of young women and girls.

Male gymnasts wear comparatively body-covering clothes: singlets, with loose shorts for their floor exercise and vault, and long pants on bar and pommel horse routines.

The German team first wore unitards at the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in April.

Sarah Voss, a 21-year-old German, said they weren't sure they would decide to wear them again during Olympic competition until they got together before the meet.

"We sat together today and said, OK, we want to have a big competition," Voss said. "We want to feel amazing, we want to show everyone that we look amazing."

Their wardrobe revolution, while widely championed, has not so far started a trend. Leotards that leave the legs bare were worn by every other female gymnast during qualifying at the Tokyo Games.

At 4-foot-8, American superstar Simone Biles said in June that she prefers leotards because they lengthen the leg and make her appear taller.

"But I stand with their decision to wear whatever they please and whatever makes them feel comfortable," Biles said. "So if anyone out there wants to wear a unitard or leotard, it's totally up to you."

Matt Cowan, the chief commercial officer for GK Elite, the US' premier leotard manufacturer, said most requests for unitards now come from countries the require modesty for cultural and religious reasons. They have otherwise seen no rush toward unitards.

"Would we do it? Absolutely. We have the capabilities of designing it and doing it, and we have done it," Cowan said. "But from a consumer demand perspective, we are not there yet."

Gymnastics is often viewed as a sport best performed by very young women and girls. Biles, at 24, often jokes about being old; she recently called herself a grandma on social media.

But other nations have defied that emphasis on youth, including the Germans: Elisabeth Seitz is 27, Kim Bui is 32, Pauline Schafer is 24, and Voss is 21. Their average age is 26. Voss said that gymnastics customs should leave room for female bodies as they age and change.

Their outfits comply with the wardrobe rules of the International Gymnastics Federation. But that doesn't mean female athletes are generally free to cover their bodies as they choose.

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Just days before the Games began, the Norwegian women's beach handball team refused to play in bikini bottoms during European tournaments, opting instead for skin-tight shorts. For that, they received a fine for violating a wardrobe requirement.

But at gymnastics qualifying Sunday, the announcer over the loudspeaker called the outfits "very nice indeed." The German team did not qualify for the finals, but the announcer pondered if their team debut on the Olympic stage might increase unitards' popularity.

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The upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo were supposed to be a symbol of humanity's victory over the coronavirus pandemic. And while it will undoubtedly be a spectacular event, it will not be an opportunity for hundreds of thousands of fans from across the globe to finally gather together and cheer on their athletes.

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For one, the Japanese government is not thrilled about hosting the pandemic-delayed games due to concerns that they would become a hub of new coronavirus infections. In an outline they published this week, organizers revealed that spectators from abroad would be barred from attending the games altogether.

They limited stadium capacity to 50% and put forth strict rules for athletes in an attempt to keep them safe, but also to discourage as many of them as possible from arriving to compete in the first place.

In their outline, organizers reserved the right to change the rules at any given moment if there is an increase in coronavirus morbidity or the Indian variant finds its way into the Olympic Village. In addition, it will disqualify any athlete who disregards the rules put forth by the organizers.

The International Olympic Committee, however, is steadfast in continuing with the already delayed games. Canceling the Olympics would not only cost billions of dollars but would also cause a loss of an entire generation of athletes who might not be able to compete at the next Summer Games in Paris in 2024.

Despite the challenges, the hope is that the world's excitement about the event will eventually rub off on the Japanese and that performances by the athletes will outweigh the sore sight of empty stadiums.

Israel is sending its largest-ever delegation to the games this year. More than 80 athletes will compete in surfing, judo, track and field, baseball and gymnastics. Among them are such household names as Israeli runner Lonah Chemtai, rhythmic gymnast Linoy Ashram and judoka Sagi Muki.

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For Agnes Keleti, the oldest living Olympic champion, the fondest memory of her remarkable 100 years is simply that she has lived through it all.

The Holocaust survivor and winner of 10 Olympic medals in gymnastics – including five golds – celebrated her 100th birthday on Saturday in her native Budapest, punctuating a life of achievement, adventure, tragedy and perseverance which, she says, passed by in a flash.

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"These 100 years felt to me like 60," she said at a celebration in Budapest on the eve of her birthday.

Leafing through a copy of a new book about her life – "The Queen of Gymnastics: 100 Years of Agnes Keleti" – her trademark modesty was on full display.

"'The queen of gymnastics,'" she said, switching to English. And in Hungarian: "That's an exaggeration."

Keleti, who was born Agnes Klein in 1921, had her illustrious career interrupted by World War II and the subsequent cancellation of the 1940 and 1944 Olympics. Forced off her gymnastics team in 1941 because of her Jewish ancestry, Keleti went into hiding in the Hungarian countryside where she survived the Holocaust by assuming a false identity and working as a maid.

Her mother and sister survived the war with the help of famed Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, but her father and other relatives perished at Auschwitz, among the more than half a million Hungarian Jews killed in Nazi death camps and by Hungarian Nazi collaborators.

Resuming her career after the war, Keleti was set to compete at the 1948 London Olympics but a last-minute ankle injury dashed her hopes. Four years later, she made her Olympic debut at the 1952 Helsinki Games at the age of 31, winning a gold medal in the floor exercise as well as a silver and two bronzes.

Despite her achievements – with six medals she was the most successful athlete at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and she is recognized as one of the most successful Jewish Olympic athletes of all time – the still-vivacious Keleti said she most values her health and the simple fact that she has lived.

"I love life," she said. "Health is the essence. Without it, there is nothing."

In an interview with The Associated Press last year, Keleti said the experiences she gained while traveling the world were more precious to her than her 10 Olympic medals.

"I loved gymnastics because it was possible to travel for free," she said.

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Those travels would ultimately result in a nearly 60-year absence from her native Hungary. At the age of 35, while she was becoming the oldest gold medalist in gymnastics history in Melbourne, the Soviet Union invaded Hungary following an unsuccessful anti-Soviet uprising. Keleti remained in Australia and sought political asylum. She then immigrated to Israel the following year and worked as a trainer and coached the Israeli Olympic gymnastics team until the 1990s.

After leaving Hungary for the Olympics in 1956, she visited her native country only once before returning to Budapest in 2015.

Keleti was awarded the Israel Prize in 2017 and is the recipient of numerous other prestigious awards, including being named one of Hungary's "Athletes of the Nation" in 2004. She holds individual gold medals in the floor exercise, balance beam and uneven bars.

Today, Keleti follows her doctor's recent advice to avoid performing full leg splits, and her near-perpetual smile and infectious laughter are reminders that even in times of great hardship, there remains the immutable potential for perseverance and the joy

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Linoy Ashram is a household name in the world of gymnastics, and her most recent accomplishment is winning gold at the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships.

A Belarusian gymnast was leading the race, and Ashram had to receive a whopping score of 26.500 points in order to win first place. 

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"I knew I had to perform a perfect routine, and that is what I did," Ashram told Israel Hayom. "When my score appeared on the screen, 26.500 points, I could not believe it.  My coach Ayelet and I cried. One of the most emotional moments of the competition was when I stood at the top of the podium, sang along to the Israeli anthem, and saw the Israeli flag waving above."

The year 2020 has been a challenging one for all gymnasts as the coronavirus disrupted training schedules that are so crucial for professional athletes. 

"We had nowhere to train for the European Championships because of the lockdowns," Ashram explained.

"The Israel Gymnastics Federation, the Olympic Committee of Israel, and the Elite Sports Department Administration came up with a solution and allowed our team to live at The Wingate Institute. For two months, we trained, ate, and slept there. That is what allowed me to prepare for the competition. If I didn't have a place to train, I don't know how I could have competed."

The routine that is usually presented at the Championships gets adjusted based on participation in competitions that take place throughout the year. In 2020 due to the pandemic, there was no such opportunity. 

"I am sure that if there were preliminary competitions, my routine would have looked completely different. Perhaps it would even be better," Ashram said. 

"Usually, when I go from the qualifiers to the finals, Ayelet and I make corrections to the routine, sometimes we replace certain exercises altogether. This year we could not do that. The competition lasted only one day.

"Previously, by the time we arrived at the finals, judges were already familiar with each gymnast's routine. This year they had no way of knowing it ahead of time, and we saw how focused they were during each performance."

Q: Did you enjoy participating in the European Championships?

"It was a lot of fun to be competing again. I had been waiting for this for so long. Since the World Championships in September 2019, I did not compete at all. Before the coronavirus, I used to fly to two competitions a month.

"I had a good feeling before the European Championships. I didn't know if I was going to win first place, but I was confident that I knew the routine perfectly and was ready to perform it."

Besides disrupting training routines, the coronavirus also led to the cancellation of all gymnastics competitions and the 2020 Olympic Games.

Q: How did you feel when you found out that the Olympics have been postponed? 

"I found out about it back in March when I was preparing for the Olympics. I was very disappointed because I felt physically and mentally ready for it. Moreover, I wanted to compete and had been waiting for it for so long.

"With time, I understood that this gives me an extra year to train hard and perfect my routine. I am choosing to look at it positively."

As a child, Ashram was exceptionally energetic, and her parents chose to channel her energy into gymnastics. Ashram recalls that her journey got off to a bumpy start.  

"I immediately realized that I was different than other gymnasts. I was not from Eastern Europe, as most gymnasts were at the time. At first, I was treated differently, and I noticed coaches gave more attention to my Russian teammates. They believed in them more.

"Perhaps that is what pushed me to reach the level I am at today. I remember thinking to myself, 'They don't believe in me? Then I am going to work as hard as I can to prove them wrong.'

"When I was a child, my feet used to be stiff; I could not point. I used to stretch for hours on end at home while watching TV. Within a year, my legs turned supple. My coaches were shocked.

"On top of the hours of training with the coaches, I used to train a lot at home. When I won the Israel Youth Championship in 2014, my coaches finally started to realize that I was, in fact, a talented gymnast."

According to Ashram, she only realized how truly talented she was at the 2014 Championships in Baku, from which she returned with two bronze medals.

"Someone on the Azerbaijani team gave me the nickname 'black panther.' He said that I was always the first to arrive at the training hall and always the last one to leave. He was right, I was there all the time, day and night. 

"Since then, many people used the phrase 'black panther' to describe me," Asham laughs.

Coach Ayelet Zussman recalls that Ashram was a determined child. "Mental strength is key when it comes to success in gymnastics," she said. "As a child, Linoy exhibited a lot of determination, and thanks to her hard work, she succeeded." 

"We have a lot in common," Zussman added. "We are the only native Israelis in the industry, we both have roots from Yemen, and our personalities are similar.

"We have also learned to work with each other. In the past, I used to insist on certain movements because I knew Linoy was capable of doing them, but today she trusts me and even develops elements for her own routine. Linoy lives and breathes gymnastics."

"Ayelet and I trust each other very much," Ashram added.

Q: We've all heard the stories of how challenging and sometimes even gruesome gymnastics training can be. What has your experience been?

"Gymnastics training is tough, and some days it can get too much. That is part of the sport. Nevertheless, our work is based on mutual respect."

Q: How do you deal with stress during international championships?

"Stress makes me perform better. It gives me motivation. I know that all of Israel stands behind me in support. They call me their hope. I only focus on the fact that they want me to succeed."

On her path to fulfilling her gymnastics aspirations, Ashram had to give up one major aspect of her life, going to school. 

"I haven't spent much time in school since 9th grade. I would occasionally come in for exams. Nevertheless, my grades were pretty good because I studied with private tutors, sometimes early in the morning or late at night. My high school helped me a lot too. They sent me materials to study and adapted their tests specially for me."

Ashram has also completed her service in the IDF.

Q: Which piece of equipment do you love the most?

"Each one is different, so I can't choose the one I love the most. They each require a different kind of music and movements. 

"With ball routines, I prefer long movements, and all the slides and transitions. It is usually accompanied by romantic music. With clubs, the routine is happy and upbeat. Hoop routines are more dramatic and powerful."

Ashram has won 47 medals in the last 15 years, including 11 medals from world championships. She also created a new element at the latest European Championships, a sequence of five consecutive jumps in the club routine.

"I always knew I could do it," she shared. "I am the only one who can perform this five-jump streak, so that gave me a very high score."

Since returning from the European Championships, Ashram quarantined at her parents' home in Rishon Lezion, at the end of which she immediately got back to training.

"We are preparing for the next two major championships, the Tokyo Olympics and next year's European Championships in Bulgaria."

Ashram used to be a shy child but has gained more confidence throughout the years.

"My confidence has gone up, and I am much more confident in what I am capable of, although some of the shyness remained. People say I am modest, but I am a different person when I compete than in regular life. When I compete, I am a fighter, but when I meet new people, for example, I am more of a quiet type. I also don't really like to talk about myself."

In December, Ashram spoke in front of thousands of young attendees at the annual Girls Week in Israel.

"The feedback I received from the girls really moved me. They told me I am their role model, that they want to be like me.

"Every day I receive hundreds of messages on Instagram and Facebook, little girls tell me they are my fans, or parents ask me to record congratulatory videos for their children, which I often do. It is exciting to be a role model."

Q: And who are your role models?

"In sports, Neta Rivkin. She is a retired rhythmic gymnast, a three-time Olympian. Only three gymnasts in the world achieved that. Outside of sports, I am a fan of Gal Gadot, who is a true wonder woman in terms of determination and strength."

Q: Do rhythmic gymnasts have strict diets?

"We don't starve, that I can say for sure. We eat all the things we are allowed to eat, protein and carbs in moderation, food with lots of vitamins. I maintain a healthy diet, and I know what is right for me and what I should eat in order to be healthy."

Q: What is your favorite treat?

"I love my mom's homemade schnitzel or the schnitzels that I make. They are definitely my favorite."

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Q: What do you do in your rare spare time?

"On my days off, I like to hike, to be outdoors, in nature and by the water. When I'm home, I enjoy watching romantic comedies and TV series. Now I am watching Grey's Anatomy.

"When I want to relax, I go for a walk and listen to music. When I stayed at the Wingate Institute before the Championships and couldn't leave the premises, I used to go for walks around the building and listen to music. Time would fly by."

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