Oren Smadja 
Date of Birth: 20/06/70
Sport: Judo – up to 71 kg
Coach: Maurice Smadja
Oren Smadja is Israel’s first Olympic medalist (Men) from Barcelona 1992 and the only Olympic medalist to date who has won Olympic medals both as an athlete and as a coach.
Oren Smadja was born on June 20, 1970, and grew up in Ofakim. His father, judo coach Maurice Smedga, was one of the founders of the sport in Israel. At the age of 12, Smadja participated in the Israeli Judo Championship for the first time and won the gold medal. At the age of 17, he began competing in international competitions and was even selected for the Israeli national team under the guidance of coach Moshe Ponti.
Samadja, who competed in the up to 71 kg weight class, secured his participation in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games after winning a bronze medal at the Czech Open Championships.
At the Olympic Games themselves, Samadga won a bronze medal thanks to a number of ippons after his six matches, becoming the first Israeli male athlete to win a medal and one of the youngest athletes ever to win a medal in judo at the Olympic Games. Smedga overcame all five of his opponents at the games in a record time of 5 minutes and 45 seconds (a single judo encounter lasts 5 minutes).
In 1995, three years after winning the Olympic medal, Samadja won the silver medal at the World Championships held in Makuhari, Japan.
Oren’s coaches throughout his career were his father, Maurice Smedja, and Moshe Ponti.
Samadja was named Athlete of the Year in 1995 and Coach of the Year in Israeli sports in 2015 and 2016.
After retiring from competitive Judo in 2010, Smadja was chosen to coach the Israeli national judo teams and was largely responsible for the sport’s renewed success on the international stage.
He coached athletes who achieved numerous successes: Olymic champions, European champions, and several winners of major and prestigious tournaments around the world.
Smadja was the head coach of the Israeli national judo teams untill May 2025.
Additional career achievements:
Judo World Championship
Silver Medal, Chiba – 1995 – 78 kg
European Judo Championships
Bronze Medal, Paris – 1992 – 71 kg
1994 – Israeli Senior Champion 71 kg
1987 – Swedish Open Champion 71 kg
1990 – First place Hungary 71 kg
1993 – Open Belgian Champion 71 kg
1996 – First place in Belgium up to 78 kg
2010 – Received 6th Dan – Red and White Belt