Israeli judoka Olympic medalist to retire
Yarden Gerbi to announce Monday, after achieving what friends described as a sense of fulfillment
Olympic-winning Israeli judoka Yarden Gerbi is set to announce her retirement from the sport, Channel 2 reported Sunday.
The 28-year-old Kfar Saba native will convene a press conference Monday to make the official declaration, just a year after winning the bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the report said.
Since that 3rd place finish, though, Gerbi has suffered a number of injuries that required several surgeries. Sources close to Gerbi told Channel 2 that her decision comes from a sense of fulfillment with her accomplishments in the sport.
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After her 2016 third place finish in the women’s 63-kg judo competition, Gerbi auctioned off her Olympic name patch for over $52,000, to purchase and donate medical equipment for the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center.
In a Facebook post about the auction, Gerbi said that the money would go to the children’s oncology ward. She wrote that “when I visited the ward with Professor [Jacob] Bickles I met amazing kids who are heroes, doing their best to fight and keep high spirits.”
Three years prior, Gerbi also auctioned her ID and donated money to the same cause after winning the 2013 World Judo Championships. Then, she was able to raise $3,800 for the oncology ward.
Gerbi — whose bronze during the Rio Games made her the second Israeli woman to win a medal at the Olympics — said donating the proceeds from the identification tag to the pediatric cancer treatment facility at Ichilov Hospital would make it “more special for society.”
The Times of Israel Community.