Risenson makes Olympic history

Rhythmic gymnast Ire Risenson made history Saturday, becoming the first-ever Israeli to qualify to the finals. The 20-year-old Risenson finished 9th overall.

Risenson, who was not among the medal favorites, made several errors during her performance in the final. The judges were not forgiving and Risenson ended up with a total score of 66.775.

Despite her failure to win a medal, Risenson maintained her good spirits and trademark smile.

"I'm overjoyed by the 9th place – this is a realistic spot for me." She said. "I would of course be happier if I scored higher, but I can't do anything about that."

"I've been dreaming about this moment since I was 10-year-old" Risenson added. "I wanted to make it to the finals and this was my goal from the start. Now I'll take a two-week vacation to clear my head a little, and then I'll go back to practicing. The world championship is in a year, and a year later there's the European championship."

Addressing what appeared to be overly harsh scoring by the judges, Risenson said: "If it said 'Russia' next to my name it would clearly help and my rank would be higher. But there's nothing that can be done about that, and I'm not complaining."

Risenson added that she has not yet decided whether she will be competing in the London Olympics in 2012.