Three more medals for Israel’s Paralympic team
Sharpshooter and hand cyclist win silvers
Aaron Kalman is a former writer and breaking news editor for the Times of Israel
Israel’s hand cyclist and sharpshooter won silver medals, and its wheelchair-tennis duo won bronze, bringing the country’s 2012 Paralympic medal total to six on Wednesday.
Sharpshooter Doron Shaziri won the delegation’s first silver medal of the London Games, finishing second in the men’s 3-positions contest, with 1,252.4 points, almost four points behind Sweden’s Jonas Jakobsson. Shaziri was the flag bearer for the blue-and-white delegation at the opening ceremony, and the silver was his seventh Olympic medal.
Hand cyclist Kobi Leon finished second in the 16-kilometer race, stopping the clock at 35:53.90 minutes, eight seconds behind the gold-winning Irishman.
Shraga Weinberg and Noam Gershony finished third in the tennis doubles tournament after beating a Jepanese team in the bronze medal match.
At age 46, Weinberg is one of the oldest members of the Israeli delegation. He won the silver medal in 2008. Gershony, a former pilot who was injured in a helicopter crash during the Second Lebanon War, stood on the Olympic podium for the first time in his career.
The two Israeli tennis players will face off against each other in one of the single player semifinals, ensuring at least one of them will win another medal.
Sports minister Limor Livnat said it was a great day for the delegation, and for all Israelis who like sports. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called to congratulate all the medal winners.
