Israeli Judo Olympian Yarden Gerbi Retires
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli judoka Yarden Gerbi, who won a bronze medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics, said she would retire from competitive judo.
In her announcement on Tuesday morning Gerbi said: “I felt that the fire in me had gone out.”
“I don’t have the energy to give my all on the [judo] mat… I’m fulfilled, I don’t have the strength to get more out of myself,” Gerbi, 28, also said.
Gerbi earned the gold medal in the world championships in 2013, and silver in 2014. Judo’s European Senior Championships will be held next year in Israel.
She said she was still considering her post retirement plans, which are said to include completing her college degree and teaching judo to young people.
Gerbi defeated Miku Tashiro of Japan for Israel’s first Olympic medal since the 2008 games in Beijing.
“The medal is for all of Israel, for everyone who supported me and cheered me on,” Gerbi said after her victory. “I’m waiting for someone to wake me up. I gave my soul and it paid off. Whoever said you can’t succeed in Israel is wrong.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30