Israel wins first two Olympic medals of the Paris Games

Bellandi is the top-ranked judoka in the world and their head-to-head record is 4:1 in favor of the Italian.

Israel’s Lanir won gold at the European Championships and gold at the World Masters.

Judo is one of Israel’s strongest sports, counting for five of their nine Olympic medals before the 2024 Games.

Israel's Inbar Lanir reacts after winning against Portugal's Patricia Sampaio (unseen) during the bronze women -78 kg individual bout of the Judo European Championships Seniors at the Arena Zagreb, in Zagreb, on April 27, 2024. (Photo by Damir SENCAR / AFP) (Photo by DAMIR SENCAR/AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images

Since 2009, Israeli judokas have won nine medals at the Judo World Championships and 12 medals at the Continental Championships.

Lanir was born in Yokneam Illit in northern Israel and moved with her family to Yehud. She served as an athlete in the Israeli Defense Force and trained at the Wingate Institute, a sports training base south of Netanya that trains Israeli national teams and IDF soldiers.

Paltchik is a Ukrainian-born Israeli and was the country’s 2024 Olympic flag bearer with the swimmer Andrea Murez. His judo coach Oren Smadja is a former competitor for Israel who went to the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona and whose son was killed fighting in Gaza earlier this year.