Olympian Raz Hershko is ready to go back to the mat for Israel in Paris
After winning a bronze in the mixed team event at the Tokyo Games, the judoka — ranked second in the world in her weight class — is one of Israel’s main medal hopes
Amy Spiro is a reporter and writer with The Times of Israel
Raz Hershko left the Tokyo Olympics with both a bronze medal and an iconic image of her shaking hands with her Saudi opponent.
At the Paris Games, which begin next week, the acclaimed judoka is hoping to once again ascend the podium – and prove that politics and sports don’t mix.
Speaking to The Times of Israel on the sidelines of an event for Olympians at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem last month, Hershko said she is “ready” for any scenario at the games, including boos from the crowd or an opponent who refuses to compete against her or shake her hand, “but from my perspective, sports and politics don’t mix.”
“In the last Olympics, I faced off against someone from Saudi Arabia and we shook hands, it was a historic moment,” recounted Hershko of her match against Tahani Alqahtani, which made headlines around the world after the Saudi athlete defied calls to boycott the match.
“I don’t think politics and sport have anything to do with each other,” added Hershko. “I will show up [in Paris] and I will do my best and I will come to do what I love – and I assume the same is true of my opponents.”
This will be the second Olympics for Hershko, who competed in the COVID-delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where, after beating Alqahtani, she lost her next match to Japan’s Akira Sone (who went on to win the gold medal). A day later, Hershko helped lead Israel to a bronze medal in the mixed team competition.
Looking ahead to her Olympic return, Hershko said, “I’m really excited, I have butterflies in my stomach and a lot of adrenaline. It’s an exciting event, I’m very much looking forward to it and waiting for it.”
Expectations are high for Hershko to perform well on the mats in Paris. She is ranked second in the world in her weight bracket according to the International Judo Federation. Israeli Olympic officials have singled her out as one of the country’s solid medal hopes, and she won a gold medal earlier this year at the European Championships in Zagreb.
But Hershko said she tries not to let any of the pressures affect her performance.
“My expectations from myself will always be the same: to come, to leave my heart on the mat, to fight, to represent my country with pride,” said the athlete.
“The fact that I won a medal [last time], perhaps gives me a little more confidence to tell myself: ‘You’re on the right track, keep working hard, keep improving things, so you can get to the most important day in the best way possible.’”
Hershko is slated to compete in her individual match on August 2 and join her teammates for the mixed team competition on August 3.
Over the past 30 years, since Israel won its first-ever Olympic medal in judo at the Barcelona Games in 1992, the sport has taken hold in the country in a big way, becoming one of the most popular after-school activities for kids nationwide. Israel has won 13 Olympic medals in history, and six of them are in judo.
Ahead of the Paris Games, Israel has qualified an athlete in every single women’s weight category in judo – something only France, Italy and Japan have matched (with France granted the spots by virtue of being the host country).
While her Tokyo experience was marked by the comradery and good sportsmanship, Hershko is aware that many may be even less happy to see Israelis competing in Paris in the shadow of the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza.
“I’m happy that the whole world gets to see what an incredible nation we are, how much we are battling, and how we are present and showing up despite the difficult period we are going through,” said Hershko, adding her fervent wish is that “we will know better days and the hostages will return home.”
Part of her goal at this year’s Olympics, she said, is to “bring a little happiness to the rest of the nation.”
“I am the most proud in the world to have the privilege to fly around the world and stand on the biggest and the smallest stages in the world with the flag of Israel on my chest,” she said. “I am fighting for and representing my country with pride.”
Over the past nine months of global judo competitions, Hershko said she has experienced “a little hostility” from certain corners, including at the Grand Slam competition in Paris in February – where she won a bronze medal.
“In the middle of the match I heard boos — but it’s something we’re used to, and I really take all the background noise and put it aside,” she said.
“When I’m grappling on the mat, I hear only my coach shouting at me what to do, and my internal thoughts — how to be ready and how to be the best, how to represent my country in the best way possible.”
