Great respect to Israeli judo. Inbar Lanir was chosen by the European Judo Association as the athlete of the year in Europe, while the coach of the Israeli women’s team, Shani Hershko, was chosen as the coach of the year.
Lanir is the world champion in judo for 2023, when besides the gold in the world championship (a competition in which the Israeli won by five points), last year he also won the gold medal in the Masters tournament, a bronze medal in the European Championship, a gold medal in the Grand Slam Ulan Bator, silver in the Grand Slam Tokyo Bronze in Grand Slam Tbilisi. Today, Inbar Lanir is ranked number one in the world in the World Judo Association ranking.
After the announcement, Lanir said: “I am excited about winning the title of female athlete of the year of the European Judo Association, based on my achievements in 2023. It is not taken for granted to win such a prestigious recognition, the very fact that there are many other decorated and successful European female athletes. This gives me more motivation to continue working It is difficult for the year 2024 to end as successfully as at least the year that passed.”
Hershko, who in 2023 led the women’s team to two medals at the World Championships (a gold by Amber Lanir and a bronze by Raz Hershko) and medals at the European Championships as well as dozens of medals at the World Tour competitions, said: “Especially in such a difficult and complex time, we see great importance in representing our country and carry our flag everywhere in the world. Every moment we are proud of our special country.” Chairman of the Judo Union Moshe Ponti: “I always say that our people in the Judo Union are rare people, and Shani and Anbar winning this title shows the human strength we have. This is a tremendous achievement for our sport, especially Shani’s win, who wins such a prestigious title for the second time
