Israeli judokas Inbar Lanir and Peter Paltchik won silver and bronze medals, respectively, at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Thursday, the country’s first medals of the 2024 Games.
Lanir, 24, took home the silver after losing to Italy’s Alice Bellandi in the final match of the women’s under-78kg weight class.
Earlier, she beat Mongolia’s Otgonbayaryn Khüslen in the round of 16, then took down the Netherlands’ Guusje Steenhuis in the round of 16 with an ippon in just 23 seconds, before defeating Germany’s Anna-Maria Wagner in the semifinal match.
Her win marks the second-ever Olympic silver for Israel, its eighth in judo and the 15th overall Olympic medal for the Jewish state.
Minutes after winning the silver, Lanir told Israel’s Sport5 broadcaster: “I’m so, so happy right now.”
“It’s a bit hard to be happy after losing in the final because I always want to beat everyone, but I’m really happy,” she said. “The fact that I have the privilege to give a little happy news during this time is worth everything to me.”
Asked about wearing a bright yellow scrunchie in her hair — the color of pins calling for the return of the hostages held in Gaza — Lanir said “of course” it had meaning: “Those who understand it, will understand.”
The judoka said that “since the start of the war, my stomach has been in knots. I knew that the one thing I could do is keep training and doing what I’m best at because I have the privilege to represent the country and to raise the flag around the world — and that gave me huge motivation.”
Her yellow hair scrunchie, Lanir said, “is to show that I’m thinking about them today too,” apparently referencing hostages held in Gaza.
Paltchik, meanwhile, won the bronze medal after defeating Switzerland’s Daniel Eich in the men’s under-100kg weight class.
Earlier, Paltchik, 32, defeated Mongolia’s Batkhuyagiin Gonchigsüren in his initial match, and then won against France’s Aurélien Diesse in the round of 16 before losing to Azerbaijan’s Zelym Kotsoiev — who went on to win the gold — in the quarterfinal, sending him to the repechage round where he beat the Netherlands’ Michael Korrel.
Minutes after winning the bronze, an emotional Paltchik told Sport5 that “I can’t explain in words what I’m going through.”
“The period we’re going through in the country — the war, the wounds, the people who we won’t see again — I just wanted to make everyone happy,” said Paltchik, sending thanks to his family, “who sacrifice so much,” mentioning his wife, their twin sons and a daughter who is on the way.
“I fought for everyone, for our flag, we worked so hard for this moment,” added Paltchik, also referencing his coach, Oren Smadga, who made the decision to take part in the Olympics just a few weeks after his son, Sgt. First Class (res.) Omer Smadga, was killed fighting in Gaza.
“Oren, after what he went through, I couldn’t give up for even one moment,” said Paltchik.
Smadga said Paltchik is “a lion, what a huge heart.”
The coach said he came to the Paris Olympics “with a whole host of emotions. It was very difficult for me to come here,” less than six weeks after burying his son.
“It’s a happy moment,” said Smadga, but comes amid “the personal mourning for my son, Omer, [and for] the country that went through trauma.”
“This is the best public relations we have, [to show that] we are loving, we’re respectful, we know how to appreciate” Olympic values and spirit.
Elsewhere on the sixth day of competitions at the Paris Games, Israeli archer Roy Dror, 19, lost 6-2 to the Netherlands’ Steve Wijler in his first round in the men’s individual competition, ending his Olympic bid.
Israeli swimmers advanced to three separate semifinals in swimming that will be held later Thursday evening, with Anastasia Gorbenko swimming the women’s 200m backstroke, Ron Polonsky in the men’s 200m individual medley and Meiron Cheruti in the men’s 50m freestyle.
Meanwhile, Israel’s equestrian team — made up of Ashlee Bond, Daniel Bluman and Robin Muhr — finished 9th overall in the team jumping qualification on Thursday, advancing to Friday’s final.
Bluman, riding Ladriano, completed a perfect run with 0 penalty points, Bond, atop Donatello, was close to perfect with 4 points and Muhr, riding Galaxy, got 16 points.
“We made it to the second round in the Olympics and I couldn’t be more proud and honored to do that for Israel with my teammates Daniel, Robin,” Bond said in a video message posted on Instagram. “We will bring it tomorrow!”
The three riders will also compete in the individual jumping competition next week.
In Tokyo — where Israel had its equestrian debut — the team was eliminated in the jumping qualifying round after one its riders fell from their horse. In the individual round, Bond was the only Israeli to advance to the final, ending up in 11th overall.
On Friday, all eyes will be on several events where Israel is predicted to be in strong medal contention, including medal races for windsurfers Sharon Kantor and Tom Reuveny in Marseilles, which has continually been plagued by delays and cancellations due to low winds.
In judo, Raz Hershko — ranked second in the world — will compete in the women’s over-78kg weight class. Due to her rank she advances straight to the round of 16, where she will face either the Netherlands’ Marit Kamps or Ukraine’s Khrystyna Homan.
Sailors Omer Vered Vilenchik and Shay Kakon will continue races in the men’s and women’s dinghy events, respectively, hoping to qualify for next week’s medal races.