Skating for Israel

BY TAMAR SNYDER

ONLY A YEAR AGO, OLYMPIC ATHLETE HAILEY KOPS WAS STUDYING AT THE MIDRESHET AMIT SEMINARY IN JERUSALEM, WITH PLANS TO ATTEND NURSING SCHOOL UPON HER RETURN TO NEW JERSEY.

After several knee injuries, Hailey had decided to retire from competitive figure skating. A gap year in Israel focusing on Jewish studies and exploring her homeland served as the perfect refresher. There, she made new friends and grew spiritually, religiously, and mentally.

But she didn’t hang up her skates for long.

to train, and competed in several local ice skating competitions. She later trained with Galit Chait, a threetime Olympian who is the head coach of the Israeli Skating Federation.

Upon returning from Israel in June, she received a call from the Israeli Skating Federation asking her to rejoin the team. She agreed with one condition: she wouldn’t practice or train on Shabbat.

At the age of 13, she became an Israeli citizen and started competing on behalf of Israel at international competitions. She and her former skating partner, Israel’s Artem Tsoglin, represented Israel at the 2017 World Junior Championships, 2018 World Junior Championships, and 2019 European Championships.

“As a religious Shomer Shabbat athlete, I enjoy spending Shabbat at home with my family and friends,” she says. Studying at Midreshet AMIT had solidified her commitment to maintaining her spiritual balance and not relaxing her standards.

Although she does compete on Shabbat when necessary, as a Modern Orthodox Jew she eats only kosher foods and won’t fly on Shabbat or Jewish holidays.

“Quietly and in her own way, [Hailey] represented what it meant to be a Modern Orthodox Jew competing at an elite level,” her father, Steven Kops, wrote in a Facebook post. “She would perform her own moments of kiddush hashem (sanctifying God’s name).”

The 19-year-old from West Orange, N.J., made her Olympic debut in Beijing in February, skating on behalf of Israel. She and her skating partner, Evgeni Krasnopolski, finished in 15th place. Before every competition, she prays. They had qualified for a spot at the Olympics by finishing fifth overall at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy in Germany in September.

Competing at the Olympics was a “dream come true,” she says. “To be able to represent Israel and the Jewish people is really special and something that I always wanted to do,” Hailey says.

She has only been practicing with her current skating partner, Krasnopolski, for less than a handful of months. To make up for lost time, the pair practiced for nine hours each day at the Montclair University Ice Arena in Montclair, New Jersey. This was the third Olympic bid for Krasnopolski, 33.

A LOYAL FAN

Hailey is grateful for the outpouring of support she has received from family, friends, and Jews around the globe. One especially passionate fan rooting for her was her 11-year-old “little sister” in Israel. The two were paired together as part of a chessed program at the Midreshet AMIT Seminary in Jerusalem that Hailey attended last year.

The seminary is located on the campus of Beit Hayeled, AMIT’s foster home for disadvantaged Israeli children. Hailey and her fellow students became part of a “mishpachton,” a family unit made up of a caring young Israeli couple and 12 children. Twice a week, Hailey helped her “little sister” with homework, went on excursions together, and just hung out. “She continually inspired me,” Hailey says of her “little sister.”

ACHIEVING THE IMPOSSIBLE

For the long program in Beijing on February 18, Kops and Krasnopolski skated to Josh Groban cover of “The Impossible Dream,” the song sung by Don Quixote in the Broadway show “Man of La Mancha.” It was a fitting choice as she reflects on achieving her long-held dream of skating in the Olympics, representing Israel.

“I think that every parent wants their children to chase their passion and dreams — no matter how big, challenging, and potentially unattainable those dreams can actually be,” her father told JNS, noting, noting that Hailey representing Israel “has been the greatest honor for us as a family.”

EARLY YEARS AS A SKATER

Hailey got her start at an early age. The daughter of a figure skating coach, Hailey was already in skates at the age of three. She would wake up early every morning