Israeli judoka Raz Hershko on Friday won a silver medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics, after losing to Brazil’s Beatriz Souza in the final match of the women’s over-78kg weight class.
“It’s a bummer it wasn’t an Olympic gold, that was the goal,” Hershko told Sport5 after the match. “I’m not sure what I’m crying over more, that I lost or that I have a medal.”
“I so wanted the gold, I felt like it was my day, like I was there, that I was sharp, that I could make history in judo,” she added, noting that she ultimately ended up with silver and “a small sense of missing out… but I’m happy.”
Hershko’s medal is Israel’s third at the Paris Olympics. All three have been in judo. On Thursday, Israeli judoka Peter Paltchik was awarded a bronze medal after defeating the Swiss Daniel Eich in the bronze round of the men's 100kg judo competition.
A short time later, Israeli Inbar Lanir lost to Italian Alice Bellandi in the women's 78kg final, putting her in second place and granting her the silver medal.
Lanir is the fifth Israeli female athlete to bring home an Olympic medal, with it being the 15th medal in Israel's history - the eighth in judo.
Paltchik was the first Israeli to medal in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and will be granted a prize of half a million shekel by the Sports Ministry.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)