The Phoenix Jewish news., 1961-07-14

Israel Aug. - tnrOugn sept. D, pi
announcement of the American Je
take part.
Thirty nations on five continents
will participate in the 19-sport,
Olympic-type program. The United
States will be represented by ap-
proximately 100 athletes in IA
sports.
Mar1Iyn Ramenofsky of Phoenix
was selected by the U. S. Games
Committee as a member of the
nine-girl u. S. swimming team, 1t
was announced in New York. She is
the daughter of DR.. and Mrs. Abra-
ham Ramenofsky, $50 w. Berridge
Lane, Phoenix.
THE ATHLETES chosen will
compete in Israel subject to the
availability of funds from public
contributions.
Jack Abramson, U. S. Swimming
Committee chairman, said in New
York that the women'S swimming
team is the best the U. S. has
ever sent to the Maccabiah Games.
s'It (the women's team is OF
Olympic caliber," Abramson de-
clared. He also is Met AAU SWIM
ming Committee chairman.
Coach of the nine girls will be
Robert Alexander of Wayne, N. J.I
coach of New York's Knickerbock-
er Swim Club and the North Jersey
Swim Club.
THE TEAM will leave New York
for Israel by jet on Aug. "A. Its
members will report to New York
about a week before that date for
final training.
Previous Maccabiah games were
held in 1882, 1885, 1850, 1858, and
1857. The games are now quad
rennial, taking place in Israel the
year following the Olympics, after
which they are patterned.
u. S. squads are planned in IA
of the 10 Maccabian sports-track
and field (men and wornen), swim
ming (Inen and women), gym
nastics, boxing, wrestling, weight
lifting, fencing, tennis, soccer, bas1
ketball, volleyball, shooting, row.
ing, and water polo.
MARILYN, a freestyle swimmer
on the u. S. team, learned to swim
at the age of 4 in Coronado Pool
when her brother, Max, and sister,
Ann, were already in competitive
swimming.
She entered her first meet at z
and when she was 8 placed End in
breaststroke in the state AAU no.
vice meet.
From that time forward" she
recalls, ST entered all the age
group meets and as many open
events as possible" /"
By the time she was 10 she had
set two records in the long course
junior OlympicS = 42.5 for 50-meter
butterfly and 48 for 50-meter
breaStstroke.
ACCOMPANYING her brother
and sister, Marilyn entered out-of-
state meets, usually in California,
at the age of 10. She relates:
Because our training program
then wasn't and still isn't as good
as that of the coast, I met with
little success. 1 did find, however,
that in ocean swims, such as the
La Jolla rough water swim, / was
more successful. In this particu-
lar meet / placed second for sew
eral years.
Last summer, when I was 13,
[ had a very successful year, for
set state records in the 200-meter
freestyle, 200-meter breaStstroke
200-meter Individual medley, 100
meter freestyle, 4O0-meter free
style and the mile"
SINCE THEN she decided to
work out 10 months a year, five
days a week rather than only in
the summer. AS result she won
the 200-yard freestyle for girls 13
and Ia in the S.P.A.A.U. in Febru-
ary 1861 and the junior national
500-yard freestyle in El PaSo, Tex.
Marilyn's brother, who swan for
the Dartmouth varsity for four
years, is coaching her in prepara-
ton for the Maccabiah competi-
ton.
She will be a sophomore e x
year at Central High School, where
oAAC was IL CoAA11loi1 CldSS vice pIESl-
dent and maintained a IA grade
average. In addition to swimming
she has placed in horse shows and
has competed in water-skiing
meets.
Marilyn remarked:
'THE GOOD fortune that has
come to me by being chosen on
the u. S. team to the Maccabiah
Games gives me a great feeling
of pride in my religion and my
athletics. AS 1 compete in Israel
against Jewish youth from other
countries, shall try to be an ex-
ample of the fine American Jew
ish tradition of which 1 am a part. /"
George Konheim, Los Angeles,
chairman of the Pacific Coast
Chapter, u. S. Maccabiah c o m
mittee, informed Marilyn's parents
of her selection. II know that she