Israeli Judoka Arik Zeevi wins gold at European championship

No matter how much we scratch our heads or search the dictionary, we will probably not be able to find the appropriate word to describe Israeli sports legend Arik Zeevi. At the height of his career, after winning the bronze medal at the 2004 Greek Olympic games, the great sportsman has been showered with every known superlative, and justifiably so.

Now, three and a half months after celebrating his 35th birthday and just weeks before his expected retirement after the Olympic Games in London this summer, Zeevi was crowned European champion on Saturday just after Israel celebrated its 64th birthday. It came following a weekend of historical and unforgettable judo matches for Israel.

Judo, which despite faulty management and an impending shut down, is competing with sailing for the title of Israel's most successful sport. Within a span of 48 hours, Israel won no fewer than four medals at the European championship, held this year in Russia.

That's no typo -- tiny Israel won four medals in the European Judo championship. The Israeli delegation quietly arrived last week in the chilly Russian city of Chelyabinsk in Siberia and soon warmed up the arena with superb achievements and a handful of medals. Yarden Gerbi won a silver medal, Alice Schlesinger and Soso Palelashvili each won a bronze medal and Zeevi won a gold medal.

After enduring the criticism of so-called "experts" in the field, who suggested he retire and concentrate on lecturing for commercial companies or writing more books after the success of his first publication, Zeevi continued to talk, as he always did, about the mat.

After five difficult wins on the mat in the 100 kg (220 lbs) category, the greatest Israeli judoka of all time once again kindled a fire of excitement among his fans and made sure "Hatikva," Israel's national anthem, was played at the event, adding another gold medal to his CV in the process.

Zeevi's day of battle began with a difficult match against the Belarusian Syumchekin, and continued with a comeback Ippon win over the Swedish Patchek. In the quarter finals, Zeevi squared off against the Georgian Irkeli Zirkidze, gold medalist in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and won by decision after both opponents failed to score points during a three-minute overtime.

At the semi-finals, Zeevi made sure he would receive his ninth European medal when he beat Russian Zafar Mahmadov. His semi-finals win was followed shortly afterwards with a victory over another Georgian, Levan Jorjoliani, in the final match for the gold medal.

"It's an amazing feeling. I didn't know I would get so excited over this victory. The euphoria reminds me of the medal I won in Greece because I wasn't expecting to win the gold medal there," Zeevi said after being declared European champion. "The last time I won the European championship was in 2004, and with all my good intentions, I didn't think it would happened again now."

The new (but veteran) European champion went on to say "This gold medal set me straight in many ways -- economically as well as precedent-wise, with nine medals in European championships, four of which were gold. I am also the oldest judoka to win a European championship, which is also a great achievement. I only hope that after the London Olympic games I will also be able to smile."

In an interview with Army Radio's "This Morning" program on Sunday, Zeevi said that despite his victory in Europe, there are other judokas who can achieve better results than he can in the upcoming London games.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Zeevi on the phone and said to him "We are all excited for you. You have brought us much honor and hope. I wish that after the tears of disappointment at the Beijing Olympic games, you will bring back tears of joy from London."

President Shimon Peres sent the champion a telegram congratulating him on his victory.

Zeevi's coach, Shani Hershko, said, "Arik did not arrive here in the best shape. And even though he felt bad in the morning, he proved his force of character once again and won the gold medal. This competition was just the means to a greater goal -- the London Olympic games."

Culture and Sport Minister Limor Livnat (Likud) commented on the results of the competition saying, "The achievements of our judo team at the championship prove that we are once again reliving the days when Israel was considered an empire in international judo competitions." In addition to praising Zeevi, she also praised his fellow medal-winners, adding, "We have great hope that in the coming Olympic games, we will see the first female medal winner since Yael Arad."

Twenty-four hours before Zeevi's impressive victories, Yarden Gerbi, who is also coached by Hershko, won the silver medal in her category. Gerbi, in her quest to represent Israel in London in the 63 kg (138 lbs) category, had lost a match earlier in the season to Alice Schlesinger, and although she will not participate in the London games, was proud of her achievement in the European championship -- her first silver medal in the international competition.

"Of course I wanted to win the gold and hear our national anthem, but second place is also good, a great conclusion to two years of hard work," Gerbi said. The 22-year-old judoka won four matches before losing in the final round to French Jarvis Aman. Had Jarvis lost to Alice Schlesinger in the semi-finals, the final match would have seen an Israeli versus an Israeli.

After her loss in the semi-finals, Schlesinger, who is coached by Pavel Mosin, won her match for the bronze.

The great day of Israeli victories ended with another bronze by Soso Palelashvili in the 73 kg (160 lbs) category. A month after the ill-fated "toothpaste incident" in Germany, in which he was arrested for allegedly shoplifting toothpaste from a German supermarket, Palelashvili had a great showing at the European championship, including a victory over the European champion for the past two years. With his win in Russia, Palelashvili raised his chances of participating in the London games this summer.

Palelashvili is expected to reach the 21st position of worldwide judokas in his category, but Israel's criteria for participating in Olympic games requires him to be in the top 20. Palelashvili's case will be discussed by Israel's Olympic exception committee and due to his bronze medal achievement at the European competition is expected to be approved for the London games.

Zeevi will receive a prize of NIS 50,000 ($13,350) from the Olympic committee, Gerbi will receive NIS 35,000 ($9,350), and Schlesinger and Palelashvili will each receive NIS 25,000 ($6,680).

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