Israeli judoka Inbar Lanir has won a silver medal in Paris, one of Israel’s first two medals this year and its best finish in the sport since 1992.
That’s not the only reason Lanir is gaining acclaim in her home country. Days after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, a woman named Sheizaf Tal Meshulam got a message from a neighbor offering to babysit her kids and pick up groceries. Meshulam, who like many Israelis had a relative serving in the military, shared in a now-viral Facebook post that she accepted the offer.
The neighbor, saved in Meshulam’s phone as “Inbar babysitter,” ran errands, played with Meshulam’s kids and, in Meshulam’s words, “cooked meals that wouldn’t embarrass a chef.” The post, which has garnered hundreds of likes and shares and some Israeli media coverage just hours after being uploaded, includes photos of Lanir with Meshulam’s two kids and a screenshot of their text message exchange.
Only later, after a Google search, did Meshulam see that the babysitter was an Israeli Olympian.
“In retrospect, I realized that she was none other than the one and only, Inbar Lanir,” Meshulam wrote. “Instead of training for the Olympics, she’s babysitting. So just know that behind a well-deserved medal stands a woman with a heart of gold.”
Following Lanir’s silver medal, Meshulam told the Israel news website Mako, “We watched her and were very excited when she won.”
Lanir’s performance at the Olympics also included a subtle reference to Oct. 7: She wore a yellow scrunchie while competing, sporting a color that has come to represent advocacy for the Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Political statements are prohibited at the Olympics, and in response to a question about the scrunchie, according to the Times of Israel, she told an Israeli outlet, “Those who understand it, will understand.”
She added, “Since the start of the war, my stomach has been in knots. I knew that the one thing I could do is keep training and doing what I’m best at because I have the privilege to represent the country and to raise the flag around the world — and that gave me huge motivation.”
Alongside Lanir’s silver, Israeli judoka Peter Paltchik won bronze. The wins on Thursday extend Israel’s record of judo success at the Games: As of now, of the 15 medals Israel has ever won at the Olympics, eight have come in judo competitions. At the last Olympics, in Tokyo, Israel won bronze in the mixed team competition, its only judo medal in those Games alongside two golds in gymnastics. That squad included both Lanir and Paltchik, and both athletes won their second career medal on Thursday.
Lanir, the 2023 world judo champion in her 78-kilogram weight class who is ranked third this year, won the silver medal in Paris after losing in the final to Italy’s Alice Bellandi. Bellandi is the top-ranked judoka in the weight category and was favored to win the match.
Paltchik defeated Swiss athlete Daniel Eich in the 100-kilogram weight class to take the bronze. Born in Ukraine, Paltchik won gold at the 2020 European championship.
He also referenced Israel’s war against Hamas following his medal. His trainer’s son had been killed in battle in Gaza weeks before the Games began.
“Nothing ever comes easy to me, the time we are going through in the country, war, the injuries,” Paltchik said, according to Haaretz. “I just wanted to make everyone happy.”
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