By Ari Wohl
For Eliana and Alexandra Levey, track and field runs in their family. Literally. This summer, the twin sisters will represent the United States on the U19 Girls’ Track and Field Team at the 2026 Maccabiah.
Eliana and Alexandra, 18, are fraternal twins and the youngest of four children in their family. Their father, Stephen, runs occasionally, and their older brother, Daniel, participated in track and field throughout high school.
Eliana’s primary focus is on mid-distance running, while Alexandra recently completed a pentathlon, an event composed of high jump, long jump, shot put, 100-meter hurdles, and an 800-meter run.
“We like to joke that the two of us together could be an entire track team,” Eliana said. “Because we know each other so well, it’s easy to interpret how the other person is feeling, even without talking to them.”
Growing up in New York City, the Leveys will graduate this spring from the Spence School. There, they served as captains of the cross-country team for two years and helped lead the school to its first New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS) Championship in 2024. They won their second NYSAIS Championship and finished eighth in the state the following year.
Since eighth grade, the twin sisters have shared the track, and with many shared friends and passions, they’ve always been close.
“We’ve lived in the same bedroom every year of our lives, and that really shapes how we interact with each other,” Alexandra said. “If I’m not wanting to go out for a run one day, and I see Eliana going, it’s more motivating to have someone around you who’s training for similar things.”
Their Jewish identities are a big part of their lives as well. Eliana is the head of the high school’s Jewish Culture Club, and they both attended Ramah Day Camp in Nyack, NY, spending a summer as counselors.
“It’s been a really great experience. Both sharing my Jewish experience with the rest of the school and also helping other people who are less religious or less involved with their communities learn about it and have fun,” Eliana said. “Being surrounded by that community has been really great.”
This summer will be their first experience representing the United States in an international competition. They are also looking forward to returning to Israel for the first time since they visited the Holy Land with their synagogue in 2018.
“[I’m excited] to compete on that bigger stage against so many different people and representing the U.S. and… getting to know a lot of other Jewish teenagers,” Eliana shared.
“Being able to support Israel and competing for the U.S., but also kind of competing for Israel and for Jews around the world, is exciting,” Alexandra added.
Following the Maccabiah, the twins will attend Princeton University in New Jersey. Eliana plans to pursue a major in East Asian Studies with a concentration in Judaic Studies, while Alexandra intends to study neuroscience.
They plan to continue their passion for running by being involved in the organization Nice Jewish Runners, a running club with chapters across North America, Israel, and Australia.
Ari Wohl graduated with a BA in Sports Journalism in ‘24 and an MA in Mass Communication in ‘25 from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. Follow him on LinkedIn and on Instagram.