Golan Pollack of Israel made history on Tuesday by bringing home the bronze for the under 66-Kg category at the World Judo Championship held this year in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.
The 23-year-old, who was ranked 23 in the world, became the first Israeli to take home a medal at the elite competition since Arik Ze'evi won silver in 2001, as part of his long and illustrious career.
Pollack faced Tumurkhuleg Davaadorj of Mongolia in the end, ensuring his name on the medal by taking down his seasoned opponent with just five seconds remaining on the clock.
The Israeli judoka was trailing throughout the match, but in the closing moments he landed a yuko and won the medal.
This is Pollack's first medal in a major international tournament. Ironically, it comes just a day after Israeli triple-jumper Hanna Knyazyeva-Minenko won the silver medal for her sport in the World Athletics Championship in Beijing.
He began his march to the medal on Tuesday morning, and in the second round faced off against Georgii Zantaraia of Ukraine, who is ranked number one in the world and won bronze last year. However, Pollack managed to get the better of his opponent.
In the quarter-finals, Pollack squeezed out a tense victory against Loic Korval of France, in a match that can be viewed below.