Special to The Jerusalem Post
(September 15) - SYDNEY - Maccabiah Games bridge survivor Sasha Elterman, 18, carried the Olympic torch yesterday, one day before the start of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
In front of a crowd of thousands who lined the streets of Sydney, Elterman jogged a 500-meter leg of the torch relay with the flame held high above her head.
"This is a major accomplishment for our daughter, considering what she has gone through the past few years," her father Colin Elterman told The Jerusalem Post.
A tennis player on Australia's Maccabiah team, Elterman was on the footbridge leading into the National Stadium in Ramat Gan when it collapsed on July 14, 1997, killing four teammates and injuring many more.
Although she survived the accident, Elterman was hospitalized for several years and has undergone numerous brain operations as a result of a fungal infection contracted from the polluted waters of the Yarkon River.
Although stable and able to attend school several days a week, she is still being treated for her condition.
Elterman was one of many honored Australians who carried the Olympic torch yesterday, including 1998 US Open champion Pat Rafter and actress/singer Olivia Newton-John. Prince Albert of Monaco was also among the guest celebrities.
Friends and family, classmates from Elterman's school, members of her synagogue, as well as the Jewish community at large, were on hand to cheer her on.
Yael Arad, Israel's silver medal winner in judo at the 1992 Barcelona Games, also called to wish her well.
"She is just over the moon with excitement," Colin Elterman said.
Another Maccabiah bridge survivor who almost drowned in the Yarkon River, Igor Prapor schikov, will also be participating in the Olympic Games. He will be representing Australia in wrestling.
Elterman and her family are to attend the opening ceremony.
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