It was her third consecutive time in the class. Twice she has already reached the European final, but finished with the silver medal, but last night (Saturday) Raz Hershko won the final of the European Women’s Open Weight Judo Championship and conquered the continent. After winning the gold medal, it seems that the Israeli is ready for the real thing – the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Not many Israeli judokas have had the chance to voice their hope at the European Championships – and Raz Hershko is the third woman to stand at the head of the podium, after Yael Arad who did so in 1993 and Yamana Nelson Levy who won in 2022. In general, this is Israel’s tenth gold medal at the European Championships.
In about three months, Hershko will arrive at the Olympic Games as a clear candidate for the podium. Hershko’s resume includes a bronze medal at the World Championships, and two silver medals plus one gold medal at the European Championships. But beyond that, Raz has earned many more medals from the world tour, whether it’s in the prestigious Masters tournament or Grand Slams, and in total in the current Olympic campaign on the way to Paris she has already collected 19 medals – and soon there is also the World Championship in Abu Dhabi.
Gold in Paris too? Raz Hershko with Shani Hershko and Anbar Lanir (courtesy of the Judo Union)
Raz Hershko She told ONE: “Winning the European Championship is crazy. There are many emotions in this win, but even before this day I already felt that this competition would be mine. Already a few days ago I felt it and day by day it got stronger. I said to myself ‘there is no way I’m coming back without gold from the European Championships’. To come back with the gold medal, it gives a feeling of competence. Shani (Hershko) and the team always give me the feeling that I can achieve more and more, that there is no limit and that I can do more – and this gives me confidence, so it keeps getting stronger in every competition.”
Hershko shared after playing the anthem: “I was the European champion for cadets and I was in the clouds, now I can’t digest at all that I am the European champion for seniors. I had a tough draw and tough fights against opponents that I didn’t go well with before because I lost to all of them in the last meeting, but I’m happy that I beat them and finish this time with the gold. I left the past behind me, I fought and I knew what I was worth. The opponent I had in the final is remembered badly because my ponytail opened up against her and I lost to her because of that two years ago, but I’ve already learned that everything comes in its time. The success in the European Championship gives a boost, but for me everything is the same and I will continue to work hard. Every new day I get up and adapt to be better.”
“Indigestion”. Raz Hershko (Hagi Michaeli)
Also this time, Hershko dedicated the win to the late Yonatan Gutin who fell in the war: “I am happy that I got to play our national anthem and wave our flag, it is the most beautiful song in the world and our flag is stunning. I am so proud to wear a suit with the Israeli flag and proudly present it to the whole world so that they understand what an amazing country and what a special people we have. We are all in a difficult time and we are still fighting. I dedicate the medal to the late Yonatan Gutin, I strengthen his family and I promise them that I am theirs forever, any medal that will be will be in memory of the fallen soldier because he fought and saved others on the worst day in the country’s history so this is the least I can do for him. I hope that what I did gives people a little joy in this reality. I know, it’s become trendy to hate us, but we are strong with all the sadness in our hearts. I hope that soon all the abductees will return home.”
Shani Hershko: We will try to arrive even more prepared for Paris
In addition to Raz’s gold, the women’s team recorded a good performance at the European Championships with four individual medals, after being prevented Nelson Levy released pressure and again returned to the podium at the most important moment after finishing third in 57 kg, Inbar Lanir again won a European medal after finishing third in -78 kg and Tamar Malka surprised with a medal at 48 kg.
national team coach, Both of them were drunk, concluded: “We work hard for these successes and I am proud of our female athletes and professional team. Inbar and Raz are athletes who have the whole package. Did they send a message here that they are candidates for an Olympic medal? I think the message has been there for a long time. If Raz Hershko beat the runner-up of the world champion, the French Julia Tolopoe, in the final, that means everything. We will try to arrive even more prepared for Paris.”
“An Olympic medal? The message has been around for a long time.” Shani Hershko (Itzik Blanitsky)
According to the coach, who received the title of European coach of the last year, it was possible to leave with a bigger trophy than the competition in Croatia. “We were capable of more in the women’s team,” claimed Shani Hershko. “Tamar Malka had a performance that exceeded expectations and it’s fun, but there is a sense of failure because we could have achieved more than that. Tamna Nelson Levy could have done more despite the medal she won, Gefen Primo and Gili Sharr did not star to say the least and Anbar Lanir missed the final. Except for Rez, all of them could have gone further.”
Meanwhile, Oren Samadja’s men’s team, which returned empty-handed from the European Championship, was disappointed. The union understands that this is a weak Olympic campaign for the men’s team, but they also claimed that Peter Palaczyk and Yam Volczak were absent due to injury, and Baruch Shmailov was injured during the fights so that he had to retire. Shmailov was injured in the knee, which he locked up during the fight, and the severity of the injury will become clear in the coming days. There is a fear of injury to the ligaments and the union will examine why there are repeated knee injuries among the men.
