Yael Arad 
Date of Birth: 05/01/67
Judo: Up to 61 kg
Association: Maccabi Tel Aviv
Coach: Danny Leopold
They say you can’t 
forget the first time. This is probably why we will never forget the name Yael Arad. After more than 2000 years of waiting, Israel won the first and historic medal at the Olympic Games. This happened at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. Color – Silver. The sport – Judo
Yael Arad was born in May 1967 in Tel Aviv. Eight years later, when she had no training partners left to spar with, she began training with the boys. The young girl’s talent was immediately noticeable, as was her perseverance.
In 1984, at the age of 17, Arad was ranked 7th in the world for senior women, and in 1989 she achieved her first significant international success by winning a bronze medal at the European Championships in Helsinki, the first medal for an Israeli judoka at a European Championship. In 1991, a year before the Olympic Games, Arad burst onto the world stage by winning third place at the World Championships. In February 1992, Arad won the prestigious gold medal at the Paris tournament, and as the world’s number one, she arrived at the Barcelona Olympic Games. In July 1992, 40 years after Israel began participating in the Olympic Games and exactly 20 years after the Munich massacre, it happened.
Israel won an Olympic medal.
The road to the historic medal began in the preliminary round. In the under 61 kg weight class, Ard defeated Gomez from Spain and Janiskova from Czechoslovakia. Yael advanced to the final round for a match where the winner was guaranteed a spot in the Olympic final and an Olympic medal. She faced the world champion, Frauke Eickhoff from Germany, and with a dramatic victory secured Israel’s first medal.
As an entire nation watched and cheered, Yael Arad stepped onto the mat on July 30, 1992, for the final match in the under 61 kg weight class against Catherine Fleury of France. After no decision was reached on points, the judges ruled that Yael Arad had won the silver medal. Immediately after stepping down from the winner’s podium at a press conference, Yael dedicated the historic medal to the eleven Munich 1972 victims and their families:
“Today we proved that the despicable murder failed to extinguish Israeli sport. “We are their successors,” she said then.
Upon Yael Arad’s return to Israel, she was received with the respect she deserved, with great enthusiasm, much praise, and high regard. True to her status as a champion, thousands waited for Arad at the airport, and in an instant, she became a public figure recognized in every home in Israel.
In May 1993, Arad was crowned European champion, and in October of the same year, she also won a silver medal at the World Championship. Four years later, at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, Yael Arad finished fifth after 4 victories, losing the bronze medal match to a Korean competitor. She successfully completed the Olympic Games while battling mononucleosis, which made it difficult for her to function.
Arad retired from competitive sports immediately after the Atlanta Games and after a 21-year career at the age of 29.
Yael Arad served in the IDF as a combat fitness instructor. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration, specializing in entrepreneurship, business development, and marketing strategies, and represents international brands of successful children’s and youth television series in Israel. Yael also lectures to organizations and security services about the connection between excellence in sports and business and advises business companies.
In 2013, Arad joined the Olympic Committee of Israel with the stated goal of putting human capital, athletes, managers, and coaches at the center. She heads the professional committee of the Olympic Committee of Israel and is a member of the National Sports Council.
Starting in 2012, Arad served as a member of the IOC (International Olympic Committee) Marketing Commission.
Currently, Yael Arad serves as the chair of the Olympic Committee of Israel and as a member of the executive board of the International Olympic Committee, the IOC.
Notable career achievements: 
World Championship
Silver Medal, Hamilton – 1993
Bronze Medal, Barcelona – 1991
European Championship
Gold Medal, Athens – 1993
Bronze Medal, Helsinki – 1989
Bronze Medal, Prague – 1991
In total, Arad won 24 medals in A-level tournaments during her sporting career, including 7 gold medals, 8 silver medals, and 9 bronze medals.
To Yael Arad’s official website – www.yaelarad.co.il