Israeli swimmer celebrates silver medal at Paralympics during ‘pain’ of tragic day
Ami Dadaon takes second place in 150m individual medley, as Mark Malyar finishes 5th in 200m individual medley; tennis players Adam Berdichevsky, Sergei Lysov knocked out of Games
Amy Spiro is a reporter and writer with The Times of Israel
Swimmer Ami Dadaon clinched a silver medal in the pool at the 2024 Paris Paralympics on Sunday, his second medal so far of the Games and the third medal for Israel in a single day.
Dadaon, 23, finished the final of the men’s 150m individual medley in the SM4 disability category behind Russian swimmer Roman Zhdanov — competing as a neutral athlete due to the Russian ban — who took gold.
The swimmer told Israel’s Sport 5 broadcaster shortly after the race that he was heavily weighed down by the tragic news out of Israel that day, including the murder of six hostages by Hamas in Gaza and the killing of three police officers in the West Bank.
“It wasn’t an easy day for the people of Israel,” he said. “It affected me, I live for Israel and for our country,” he added, expressing condolences to those killed. “We’re fighting on so many different fronts, but, at least on my own front, I hope I succeeded.”
Dadaon also sent condolences to fellow Paralympian Nadav Levi, a boccia player whose father died overnight of a heart attack while he was accompanying the athlete to the Paris Games.
After winning the gold medal in the men’s 100m freestyle on Friday, Dadaon sobbed as he sang the Israeli national anthem “Hatikvah,” overcome with the emotions wrapped up in Israel’s ongoing war.
So too on Sunday, he said, “It was very hard for me to make that switch” from tragic news to sports, “but at the end of the day we’re athletes, this is what we do. I understood that I had to represent the country, no matter how much pain I felt, to do this for our people.”
Dadaon, who was born with cerebral palsy and began swimming as a child as part of his physiotherapy, won three medals at the Tokyo Games three years ago — gold in the 50m freestyle, silver in the 150m individual medley and gold in the 200m freestyle. The swimmer has a strong chance at racking up further medals later in the week, when he swims in the 200m freestyle and the 50m freestyle — in both of which he holds the world record.
His win marks Israel’s third medal today, after rower Moran Samuel won gold in the women’s singles and duo Shahar Milfelder and Saleh Shahin won bronze in the mixed double sculls. So far, Israel has won six medals in Paris, with several more podium opportunities still to come.
Earlier on Sunday, fellow swimmer Mark Malyar finished fifth in the final of the men’s 200m individual medley in the SM8 disability class.
The swimmer — who won a bronze medal in the 100m backstroke on Saturday — said he was also greatly affected by the difficult news from home.
“I deleted social media from my phone, but we’re still following what’s going on in Israel and we’re with you, and I want to send my condolences to those who were killed,” he told Sport5.
Since Tokyo, Malyar — who was born with cerebral palsy — was told that he must move from the S7 disability category to S8, competing against those with lighter impairments. Asked about the move, the swimmer said “I didn’t really believe during my training that I’d be able to keep up with these guys, I’m really enjoying competing here and happy to succeed.”
He is slated to swim later in the week in the 100m freestyle and 400m freestyle. His twin brother, Ariel Malyar, is also a swimming Paralympian, competing in the S4 disability category, with three more races of his own left to go in Paris.
Also Sunday, Israeli tennis duo Adam Berdichevsky and Sergei Lysov lost against French pair Frederic Cattaneo and Stephane Houdet, failing to advance to the quarterfinal. Earlier in the day, Berdichevsky, 40, and Lysov, 20, both lost their individual matches, ending their Paralympic runs in the singles tournament.
Meanwhile Israel’s women’s goalball team lost its match on Sunday against China 6-1, but still moves ahead to the quarterfinals, where, on Tuesday, it will face the Canadian team for a shot at the semifinal.
On Monday, Israel’s only female Paralympic swimmer, Veronika Guirenko, will take to the water in the women’s 50m backstroke. Later in the day, tennis player Guy Sasson will will face the UK’s Gregory Slade in the quad men’s singles quarterfinal, and Maayan Zikri will compete against the Netherlands’ Diede de Groot in the second round of the women’s tennis singles.
