Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

Head of ToI's Those We Have Lost project Amy Spiro joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

The XXXIII Olympics opened officially in Paris last night and Team Israel is well represented with 88 athletes this year.

Since the October 7 massacre, The Times of Israel has published hundreds of memorial posts about the Hamas victims and fallen soldiers. In the course of the project, we noted a trend of serious athletes among those killed.

On this Olympics weekend, we share nine of their stories.

Discussed articles include:

Lt. Yonatan Goutin, 20: Star judoka who chose combat in IDF

Cpt. Eden Nimri, 22: Professional swimmer, led all-female IDF team

Roni Petrovski, 24: Youth soccer coach with a ‘heart of gold’

Lior Asulin, 43: Ex-soccer player killed celebrating his birthday

Kobi Paryante, 43: Dedicated family man and accomplished athlete

Naomi Shitrit Azulay, 52: Personal trainer and one of 10 siblings

Lior Waitzman, 32: Netflix soundman was training for Ironman

Mor Cohen, 24: Talented athlete was a pioneer in Israel’s lacrosse scene

Haim Bennaim, 55: Landscape architect and avid cyclist

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. 

IMAGE: Top row, left-to-right: Naomi Shitrit Azulay, Mor Cohen, Lior Waitzman; Middle: Roni Petrovski, Haim Bennaim, Lt. Yonatan Goutin; Bottom: Lior Asulin, Kobi Paryante, Cpt. Eden Nimri. (courtesy)