Yael Arad, the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona

Yael Arad was the first person to win a medal for Israel, she came second and she got a silver medal for judo. Her victory was regarded as both national and personal, and put Israel on the map of international athletic achievements.

Arad began judo as a child in Israel, she has also trained in Europe and Japan. She achieved her first international title in middleweight competition in 1984, and continued to compete successfully in the following years.
At the Olympic games in Barcelona in 1992, Yael Arad became the first Israeli athlete to win an Olympic medal. Only just missing the gold, based on a judge's decision in the half middle-weight competition, she returned home with the silver medal and became a national hero.




Yael Arad