The International Judo Federation (IJF) is the international governing body for judo, founded in July 1951. Today the IJF has 200 National Federations on all continents. There are over 20 million people around the globe who practice judo, according to the IJF.
Alice Schlesinger is an Israeli-British retired judoka and sambo competitor. Born in Israel, she competed for that country until 2014, but following a dispute with the national federation, in 2015 she started competing for Great Britain, of whom she is a citizen through her English-born mother.
Golan Pollack is an Israeli Olympic judoka. who competed in the half lightweight weight category.
Rustam Orujov is an Azerbaijani retired judoka. He competed in the men's 73 kg event at the 2012 Summer Olympics; after defeating Gideon van Zyl in the second round, he was eliminated by Mansur Isaev in the third round. He won the silver medal in the men's 73 kg event at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Varlam Liparteliani is a Georgian judoka. He has won silver at Olympic and World level.
Yarden Gerbi is an Israeli former judoka world champion. She won an Olympic bronze medal competing for Israel at the 2016 Summer Olympics, in women's 63 kg judo.
Judo at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo featured around 393, 128 judoka competing in 15 events, seven each for both men and women as well as a new mixed team event. The 2020 Summer Olympics were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the judo competitions were held in July 2021 at Nippon Budokan.
Sagi Aharon Muki is an Israeli Olympic and former world champion half-middleweight judoka. Muki is the 2019 World Champion. He also won the 2015 and 2018 European championships. In the mixed team event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Muki was a member of the Israeli team that won the bronze medal.
Or "Ori" Sasson is a retired Israeli Olympic judoka. He won a bronze medal in the +100 kg category at the 2016 Summer Olympics and another one at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He is the second of two Israelis to win two Olympic medals.
Shira Rishony is an Israeli Olympic lightweight judoka. She competes at U48 kg. She competed for Israel at the 2016 Summer Olympics. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics she won a bronze medal in the mixed team event, and placed 5th in the women's 48 kg event. She won a bronze medal at the 2022 European Championship. Rishony will represent Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in judo in the women's 48 kg on 27 July 2024, and in the mixed team event.
Saeid Mollaei is an Iranian half-middleweight judoka. He was born in Tehran to ethnic Azerbaijani parents originally from Khoy. In 2001, at the age of 10, he entered the Persian Gulf Judo School by Dr. Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, a judo instructor. Iranian authorities ordered Mollaei to intentionally lose in the semi-final at the Tokyo 2019 World Championships, so as to avoid a potential match in the finals against Israeli 2019 world champion Sagi Muki. In August 2019, he moved to Europe with a two-year visa from Germany, saying he was afraid to return to Iran after exposing and criticizing its pressure on him to deliberately lose in the World Championships. In December 2019, he became a citizen of Mongolia. He dedicated his 2020 Olympic medal to Mongolia and Mongol People and to Israel. From May 2022 on, Mollaei represents Azerbaijan.
Baruch Shmailov is an Israeli Olympic judoka. He competes in the under 66 kg weight category, and won a gold medal in the 2022 World Masters in Jerusalem. Shmailov also won a bronze in the 2017 World Masters, as well as a silver at the 2018 World Masters. As of December 2022, Shmailov was ranked #3 in -66 kg weight category. He competed for Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics, finishing in fifth place in the individual competition and winning a bronze medal in the mixed team. He has reached a high world ranking of third in 2019, 2022, and 2024. Shmailov will represent Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in judo in the men's 66 kg event on 28 July 2024, and in the mixed team event.
Tohar Butbul is an Israeli Olympic judoka. He competes in the under 73 kg weight category, where he won silver medals at the 2019 Judo World Masters and the 2021 European Championships, and won bronze medals in the 2017 Paris Grand Slam and 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Slam. As of March 2018 he was ranked #9 in the world in the U73 kg division. He was a member of the Israeli team that won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Butbul will represent Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in judo in the men's 73 kg event on 29 July 2024, and in the mixed team event.
Timna Nelson-Levy is an Israeli Olympic judoka. She competes in the under 57 kg weight category and represented Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics, winning a bronze medal in the mixed team event. In European Championships, she won a gold medal in 2022 and bronze in 2016 and 2024. Nelson-Levy will represent Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in judo in the women's 57 kg on 29 July 2024, and in the mixed team event.
Gefen Primo is an Israeli judoka. She competes in the under 52 kg weight category. In 2017 she was the European Youth Olympic Champion. She won bronze medals in the 2018 European Judo Championships, 2021 World Judo Championships, 2021 European Judo Championships, and 2022 World Judo Championships. Primo will represent Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in judo in the women's 52 kg on 28 July 2024, and in the mixed team event.
Peter Paltchik is a Ukrainian-born Israeli former European champion and Olympic judoka, competing in the under 100 kg weight category, of which he is the current number 1 ranked Judoka in the world. Paltchik won the bronze medal at the 2018 European Judo Championships in Tel Aviv. In 2019 he won the Israeli championship in the 100+ Kg category. He then won the gold medal at the 2020 European Judo Championships in Prague. Paltchik also won a bronze medal in the mixed team judo competition in the 2021 Olympics. At the 2023 World Judo Championships he won a bronze medal. Paltchik will represent Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in judo in the men's 100 kg event on 1 August 2024, in the mixed team event and will be the flag bearer of his country with the female Olympic swimmer Andrea Murez.
The Men's 73 kg competition in judo at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo was held on 26 July 2021 at the Nippon Budokan.
Inbar Lanir is an Israeli Olympic judoka and 2023 world champion. She competes in the under 78 kg weight category. In addition to winning the 2023 world championship, she won gold medals at the 2023 World Masters and 2023 Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam. Lanir will represent Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in judo in the women's 78 kg on 1 August 2024, and in the mixed team event.
The Israel national judo team consists of the men's team coached by Olympic medalist Oren Smadja and the women's team coached by Shany Hershko(he). It is assambled by the Israel Judo Association.
Gili Sharir is an Israeli judoka and Olympic bronze medalist, having won a bronze medal in mixed team event at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Sharir also won a bronze at the mixed team event of the 2022 World Championships. At the European Championships, she won a bronze medal in 2022 and a silver medal in 2023. Sharir will represent Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in judo in the women's 63 kg on 30 July 2024, and in the mixed team event.
