Noga Nir-Kistler (May 18, 1979 - December 14, 2021) was an Israeli born American Paralympic swimmer and table tennis player who won a Pennsylvania State Championship in table tennis in competition against able-bodied former champions, participated in table tennis in the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, and won a bronze medal representing the United States in the 2012 London Paralympics in the 200-meter breaststroke.[1]
Born on May 18, 1979 in Israel, to Eliezer Nir and Nira Nir, as the youngest child of a family with three older brothers, she learned early to hold her own and[2] competed as a youth as a member of Israel's Junior National Swim Team. She came to the Lehigh Valley in 1997 with her parents, when her father Eliezer was doing engineering work at Lehigh University. She attended Whitehall High School, and swam for their team in 1998, the year she graduated. She resided in Salibury Township, and worked at the Allentown YMCA as a lifeguard and swim instructor. After two years in Pennsylvania, her family returned to Israel in 1999, but she decided to remain and become a U.S. citizen.[2][3] She first learned table tennis from her husband Fred, a local table tennis champion, having never played the game before meeting him. In 1999, while a student at Lehigh Carbon Community College, her disease began to slow her down, and she was forced to leave school and face confinement to a wheelchair at the age of 20.[3]
Nir-Kistler's disability stemmed from her RSD, (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy), a debilitating disease of the nervous system that confined her to a wheelchair, requiring her to undergo 14 surgeries from 2000-2004, though many more surgeries would follow. The disease affected her left hand, requiring her to switch hands when she played table tennis, an adjustment that somehow did not reduce her competitiveness. Her surgeries reduced her pain and allowed her to continue to pursue athletics, but pain still persisted, and her condition could vary from year to year and month to month. She lost the use of her legs and was confined to a wheel chair. She did not consider returning to swimming, even recreationally until 2010, and would be overjoyed in her ability to compete as part of the U.S. paralympic team.[3]
Table tennis highlights
Her husband Fred, an outstanding table tennis player himself, noted that though she was very outgoing, warm, and friendly, her concentration and focused style of play during table tennis was extraordinary. She won a Pennsylvania State title in table tennis in 2003 against able bodied players, beating 12-time champion Nancy Newcomber of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She won a gold and silver medal at the Keystone State Games in August 1999, as did her husband Fred.[4] In December 2003, she won a title at the U.S. Open National Championships at the Olympic training center in Colorado Springs.[3]
In December 2006, she won a gold and silver at the U.S. Open Table Tennis Championship in Las Vegas.[5]
Nir-Kistler won 2 silver medals at the 2007 Brazil Parapan American Games in Rio for table tennis singles and doubles.
In 2008, she was ranked the top U.S. female paralympic table tennis player, and eighth in the world among those with Class 5 (least) handicapped players.[6]
2004 Paralympics
She was chosen as a U.S. team member for the 2004 Paralympics in table tennis, but due to a downturn in her health did not travel with the team to participate in the games.[1]
2008 Beijing Paralympics
In 2008, Nir-Kistler was rated as the No. 1 U.S. paralympic table tennis player, and participated in table tennis at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing, but did not medal. She was a bit awed by the experience, and had to compete against the Chinese players who were the world's best.[7]
She had several outstanding coaches and training partners. These included Jason Brader, owner of the well-known FASST Performance Center in Lehigh Valley, John Larson, Head Coach of the Emmaus Aquatic Club (EMAC), and George Frick, owner of A&H Sporting Goods who often acted as a sponsor.[7]
2012 London Paralympic bronze
Noga Nir-Kistler (On right, in white with hands over head) at medal ceremony in 2012 Summer Paralympics
Nir-Kistler participated in the preliminary heats in five events at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, spanning every stroke, but made the finals in only two events.[1]
On September 4, 2012, swimming for the United States, she placed sixth in the final round of the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 36.83.[1]
She won a bronze medal in 100 metres (330ft)breaststroke on September 5, 2012 with a time of 1:50.75 at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London. Her disability prevented her from using her legs to kick, so all her propulsion was provided by her upper body.[8][1]
At the 2013 World Championships in Montreal she won a silver medal in both the 100-meter breast stroke and freestyle, and bronzes in the 50-meter butterfly, and 4x50 medley relay.[1]
In 2016, at the age of 37, she qualified for the U.S. Paralympic swimming team in the 100 breaststroke, 50 butterfly, and 50 freestyle at the summer trials in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Olympic Committe notified her 10 hours before her takeoff time that her pulmonologist decided it was not advisable for her to compete as she had not yet thoroughly recovered from a bout of pneumonia.[9]
She died on December 14, 2021.
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