Lipp wins Australia’s first 2026 Maccabiah gold
In a triumphant, emotional moment, Barry Lipp won gold for Australia at the start of the 2026 Maccabiah Games.
Australia’s small 14-member team at the 2026 Maccabiah Games is already punching above its weight, having won the first gold medal on offer in any event, on Friday morning (Israel time), thanks to an inspiring performance by masters athlete Barry Lipp.
The 68-year-old Melburnian came first in the men’s 65+ duathlon in the beautiful Beit She’an Valley in Israel’s north-east.
Then, on Sunday July 5, Lipp won silver in the second event of the Maccabi Man series – the 3km open water swim in Lake Kinneret, in a time of 1:16.21.
This is the Maccabi Australia vice president’s fifth Maccabiah campaign as an athlete, but he only decided to travel to Israel eight days earlier, due to the circumstances.
He described this year’s Opening Ceremony, and winning the first medal for Australia at the postponed by a year 22nd Maccabiah Games, as “very emotional”.
Speaking to The AJN via a WhatsApp call within 90 minutes of his gold medal win – just before Shabbat began in Australia – Lipp explained the event had sprung a surprise for the athletes early that morning when a rare water quality issue in the river forced organisers to change the race from a sprint-distance triathlon to a duathlon, with an extra run replacing the 2.5km swim leg.
The intense heat also saw the race start with a 5km run, then the bike leg, followed by the shorter run.
He told The AJN that late change initially concerned him about his prospects, but he adapted quickly and took a positive attitude.
“I swim better than most of the masters triathletes [in the field], so I was a little worried that my chances had actually decreased,” he said.
“I tend to do the run legs well, but the bike ride is not my strongest leg. So, I was just thrilled that everything on the day just came together for me. For me, it was a really great result to come first, and I’m extremely pleased.”
The medal presentation added extra weight to the occasion, with Maccabiah chairman Assaf Goren – a personal friend of Lipp’s through the Maccabi movement – handing him the gold medal.
“He has been to Australia before and we’ve even gone running together, so that made it extra special.
“It also turned out that the men’s 65+ duathlon was the first medal event of the Games… so I genuinely got to win the very first gold medal of these Games!”
Lipp said the win carried deeper significance given the difficulty of assembling any Australian team this time, and having only himself committed to competing eight days beforehand, following the Australian Government’s travel warning advice for Israel being downgraded from ‘do not travel’.
“I had support from Maccabi Australia, who kindly wanted me to still go, and I am so pleased that I did.”
Lipp said that marching with the Australian team in the Games’ Opening Ceremony on July 1 was a deeply emotional and proud moment, especially because he was Australia’s only Maccabi Man series entrant, whereas that particular squad is normally seven or eight strong.
He said he felt like he was carrying the weight of, and representing, absent teammates, and described marching beside Australia’s captain, masters table tennis player Sam Parasol – who is in his 10th Maccabiah Games – and who carried the Australian flag into Teddy Stadium, as an unforgettable moment, and “different to all other Opening Ceremonies I’ve been in”
“I was really proud of each and every member of our team who marched into the stadium, because they’ve gone to an enormous degree of effort and commitment just to be there.”
He noted that due to the circumstances, many of the 14 Aussie team members had arrived in Israel in the last two or three weeks, and planned to compete as ‘unattached’ athletes, but being able to represent Australia just in time has given them all an extra boost.
Despite anticipating that the atmosphere at the Opening Ceremony was going to be a bit subdued compared to 2022, Lipp said Teddy Stadium was still almost packed, and he described the vibe as “terrific”, and the experience for all athletes and teams as “a huge justification for the event proceeding.”