Awards for the outstanding Paralympic athletes of the past year were distributed by the athletes Uri Sasson and Avishag Semberg in the presence of Minister of Culture and Sports MK Micki Zohar, at a ceremony held at the Dan Panorama Hotel in Tel Aviv on Sunday.
Other attendees included the Chairman of the Paralympic Committee Eli Birnbaum, Chairman of the Association for Disabled Sports Ehud Rassabi, Chairman of ILAN Prof. Alon Dumanis, part-owner of the James Richardson Corporation Andrew Danos.
"The medals and honor that our Paralympic athletes bring to Israel in the world are just a small sign of the enormous respect we have for them, for their pursuit of excellence and success in spite of difficulties and obstacles and a meager political budget," Micki Zohar said.
The list of winners
Sportsman of the year: Paralympic swimmer Ami Dadon, who won three gold medals at the World Championships held in Portugal.
Sportswoman of the year: Paralympic shooter Julia Cheroni who won a bronze medal at the World Championships held in the United Arab Emirates and has already secured her place in Paris 2024.
Young Sportsman: Paralympic swimmer Ariel Maliar who reached the finals of the World Championships held in Portugal.
Young Sportswoman: Paralympic kayak rower Talia Eilat, who placed sixth in the European Championships and seventh in the World Championships held in Canada.
Breakthrough of the year: Paralympic tennis player Maayan Zikar who qualified for 21st place in the world this year and entered the bronze squad.
Team of the Year Award: The women of the goalball team who won the bronze medal at the World Championship held in Portugal.
Coach of the Year Award: Raz Shoham who led the women of the goalball team to a bronze medal.
"The Paralympic athletes of the State of Israel, who have represented the country since its establishment, are the most accomplished athletes with the largest number of medals in Israeli sports, in the Olympics, the World Championships and the European Championships. We at the Paralympic Committee are committed to taking care of all the needs of our wonderful athletes, and of course to the next generation of Paralympic sports," said the Chairman of the Paralympic Committee, Eli Birnbaum.
The Chairman of the Association for Disabled Sports Ehud Rassabi added: "The purpose of the evening is to salute and honor the athletes, coaches and all those involved in the important issue of 'Paralympic sport' which embraces countless goals, professionals, athletes, sponsors and budgets. I am so proud to head a system whose entire occupation is sport - a sport that touches all parts of the population, a sport that connects extremes, religions and genders, that does not differentiate between a Jew and a member of another religion and between men and women. A system that sees determination, achievement and excellence and not people with disabilities."