Paris 2024 Olympics – Judo – Women -78 kg Victory Ceremony – Champ-de-Mars Arena, Paris, France – August 01, 2024. Silver medallist Inbar Lanir of Israel celebrates. Photo: REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi
It’s amazing how quickly things can change.
After five days of these 2024 Olympics, Israel hadn’t done anything to write home about — the most significant results were gymnast Artem Dolgopyat qualifying for the floor final, and the men’s 4 x 200m freestyle relay team qualifying for their final.
All that changed on Day 6.
For the first ever time, Israel won two Olympic medals in a single day — both of them in Judo.
Peter Paltchik started the day looking focused after defeating his Mongolian opponent in the first round. Then he had to take on a hometown Frenchman in the Round of 16.
Even though the Israeli was significantly higher in the rankings and considerably more experienced, the Frenchman was buoyed by the enthusiastic crowd and held his own with Paltchik. The match went on for an unusual amount of time: first through the four minutes of regulation and then another four or so minutes until Paltchik finally won.
Next up, he competed against the world champion from Azerbaijan. Paltchik looked like he leveled it up in the last 10 seconds, only for the point to be canceled on review. He then defeated a Dutch opponent, meaning he was playing Daniel Eich of Switzerland for a bronze medal.
With just 10 seconds to go and in the lead, it appeared he might be disqualified, but it was negated on review, leaving him to win the bronze, just like his coach Oren Smadja did 32 years ago.
Another 32-year first was an Israeli in an Olympic Judo final.
Inbar Lanir had a first-round bye, and then steamrolled her way through the competition defeating opponents from Mongolia, the Netherlands, and then Germany. In the final, she was up against the Italian, Alice Bellandi. Bellandi seemed more prepared for Lanir than the Israeli’s previous opponents, and Lanir was lacking a Plan B. With Bellandi up a point and the clock winding down, Lanir received a third yellow card and that was that.
But it was still an incredible achievement to win Israel’s second ever silver medal.
Lanir and Paltchik joined sailor Gal Fridman as the only Israelis to win multiple Olympic medals.
Also on Day 6, the jumping team of Daniel Bluman, Ashlee Bond, and Robin Muhr qualified in 9th position for the 10-team final, which is happening on Day 7.
The windsurfing competition concludes in Marseille on Friday, and Sharon Kantor and Tom Reuveny are both in the semi-final of their respective competitions. Only four competitors make the semi-final, and if they finish in the top two of the semi-final, they’re guaranteed to win a medal.
While the medalists get all the attention and plaudits, every single one of our Olympians has done a remarkable job just to get there — and has inspired generations of Israeli children who see what’s possible in each of their individual sports.
These athletes have inspired the next generation of Israelis to follow in their footsteps and become champion archers, triathletes, fencers, surfers, or whatever sport they want to play.
David Wiseman is the co-founder of Follow Team Israel, a page that shares the stories of Israeli sports to the world. You can find it on Facebook and Instagram. He is also the head of online reputation management at Buzzdealer.
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