Israel's Raz Hershko won the silver medal after losing to Brazil's Beatriz Souza in the Olympic Judo heavyweight finals on Friday.
Hershko and Souza shared an emotional hug following the match.
החגיגות הגדולות בביתה של הג'ודאית רז הרשקו לאחר עלייתה לגמר pic.twitter.com/HIhEY3QWk5
— החדשות - N12 (@N12News) August 2, 2024
She defeated Turkey's Kayra Ozdemir in the semi-finals and Serbia's Milica Zabic in the quarter-finals.
Hershko has given Israel its 16th Olympic medal in history and ninth in judo.
She was quickly congratulated by President Isaac Herzog, who called her an "excellent judoka" and praised her coach and uncle Shani Hershko calling him legendary.
רז הרשקו את השראה - כולנו גאים בך! הישג ענק לג׳ודו הישראלי - 3 מדליות במשחקים האולימפיים בפריז כבוד גדול לרז הג׳ודוקא המצוינת ולשני הרשקו המאמן האגדי. יישר כוח! pic.twitter.com/eMEoO1ZTo7
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) August 2, 2024
Israelis succeed in judo
Hershko has become 3rd medal winner at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with all of them in judo.
The two previous winners are Peter Paltchik (bronze) and Inbar Lanir (silver).
Paltchik, 32, lost to the eventual gold winner Azerbaijan's Zelym Kotsoiev, in the quarter-finals of the men’s under-100kg weight class; after fighting in the repechage round, he defeated Switzerland's Daniel Eich for the bronze.
Lanir, 24, lost to Italy's Alice Bellandi in the final of the women’s under-78kg weight class, where she was noted for wearing a bright yellow scrunchy in her hair to show solidarity with the hostages.