Israel's Olympic Stars Hit Peak Performance Ahead of Paris Games

There was no shortage of excitement for Israeli athletes competing in Paris on Sunday, as judokas, swimmers, and gymnasts vied for a spot on the podium.

In women’s judo, Gefen Primo advanced to the Repechage round in the -53kg category. She started strong, defeating South Korea’s Yerin Jung and Switzerland’s Binta Ndiaye to reach the quarterfinals. However, she faced a setback against Distria Krasniqi from Kosovo, moving her to the Repechage bracket, where she ultimately lost to Hungarian Reka Pupp via Ippon in just 46 seconds, ending her medal contention.

Reflecting on her performance, a tearful Primo said, “I started the bout well but there wasn't much of a fight, she caught me, and from there it was too late. The hole in my heart will never be filled, it's hard, that's not how I wanted to end the day. I'm sorry it ended like this. I want to send love to my family and thank you for all of the support and thank you to my club as well.”

In the -67kg men’s judo category, Baruch Shmailov defeated Morocco’s Abderrahmane Boushita in his opening bout, though Boushita refused to shake his hand. Shmailov’s journey ended in the Round of 16 when he was defeated by Nurali Emomali from Tajikistan. “There is no way I can explain what happened there in the last second of the bout,” Shmailov said. “I was sure I could pull him by the hand and drop him to the mat, but unfortunately, I was the one who fell first. It's sad and painful, especially with so many Israelis in the stands. I fought for everyone and for my country, but unfortunately, it was not enough.”

Judokas Timna Nelson Levy and Tohar Butbol are set to compete on Monday, hoping to bring home medals for Israel.

In artistic gymnastics, reigning Olympic champion Artem Dolgopyat secured his spot in the final for the Floor Exercise competition. Despite a nail-biting qualification round, Dolgopyat finished in seventh place with a score of 14.466, earning his berth in next Saturday’s final. Meanwhile, Lihie Raz finished the preliminary round in 16th place in the Women’s All-Around competition, with a total score of 51.632. American superstar Simone Biles led the qualification with a score of 59.566.

In swimming, Anastasia Gorbenko advanced to the semifinals of the Women’s 100m Breaststroke with a time of 1:06.22 but chose to conserve her energy for the 400m Individual Medley on Monday. Denis Loktev advanced to the semifinals of the Men’s 200m Freestyle with a time of 1:47.01, while Adam Maraana and Lea Polonsky were eliminated in their respective heats.

In fencing, Yuval Freilich was narrowly defeated in the Epee Table of 32 by Italy’s Andrea Santarelli, with a close score of 15-13. Sergey Richter, an Olympic veteran, finished 33rd in the 10m Air Rifle Shooting event.

On the surfing front, Anat Lelior advanced to the second round of her event, which is being held in Tahiti, finishing second in her heat. Meanwhile, Sharon Kantor and Tom Reuveny’s sailing events were postponed due to inclement weather.

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