Israeli judoka Raz Hershko has won the silver medal in the Women’s over-78kg final at Paris 2024 after being defeated by Brazil’s Beatriz Souza.
The 26-year-old was unable to fight back after the Brazilian put her in a throw called a ‘Waza-ari’ early on in the match.
Hershko defeated Turkey’s Kayra Ozdemir in 15 seconds in the semifinal earlier on Friday, securing her spot in the final.
Hershko, 26, has been training since the age of four, and is the niece of the current Israeli judo head coach Shany Hershko.
She’s previously been ranked number one in the world for her weight category and has taken medals in European championships as well as the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
In April, while competing in the European Judo Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, Hershko dedicated her win to Yonatan Goutin, an Israeli judoka who died saving civilians from Hamas in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7.
This marks Israel’s third medal in Judo after Peter Paltchik won the bronze medal after defeating Switzerland’s Daniel Eich in the men’s under-100kg weight class on Thursday.
Moments later, Inbar Lanir won the silver medal in the women’s under-78kg weight class.
