Raz Hershko


Raz Hershko is an Israeli Olympic silver medalist and European champion judoka. She was the 2015 European Cadet Champion, the 2017 European U23 Championships silver medalist, and won a bronze medal in the 2023 World Championships. She competed for Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics, winning a bronze medal in the mixed team event. She is the 2024 European Champion. Representing Israel at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Hershko won the silver medal in judo in the women's +78 kg, and also competed in the mixed team event, in which Team Israel came in ninth.
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Early life

Herhsko was born in Netanya, Israel, and is Jewish. Her uncle is Israeli-born former judoka and current Head Coach of the Israel women's national judo team, and when she was four years old she joined the judo club he had founded. In 2016, she began her Israeli Defense Forces service as an exceptional athlete.
Hershko is openly lesbian. She said: "I came out to my parents, and now I feel that everyone accepts me as I am."

Career

Hershko competes in the 78 kg-and-over weight category. She is coached by Shany Hershko, Miki Tanaka, and Ido Bar. Hershko trains at the Wingate Institute in Netanya, Israel.

2014–16; European U18 Champion

Hershko won the silver medal in the 2014 European Cup U21 Coimbra, and bronze medals in the 2014 European Cup U21 Thessaloniki and the 2014 European Cup U21 La Coruna. She won the gold medal in the 2014 Israeli U18 Championships in Ra'anana.
Hershko won the 2015 European Cadet Championships in Sofia. She also won silver medals at the 2015 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival, the 2015 European Cup U21 La Coruna, and the 2015 European Cup Cadets Fuengirola. She won the silver medal in the 2015 Israeli Championships in Ra'anana.
Herhsko won the gold medals at the 2016 European Cup U21 Athens and the 2016 European Cup U21 Ploiesti. Hershko also won a bronze medal at the 2016 European Cup U21 La Coruna. She won the gold medal at the 2016 Israeli U21 Championships in Ra'anana.

2017–20; European U23 championships silver medal

Hershko won a silver medal at the 2017 European U23 Championships in Podgorica, Montenegro, and a bronze at the 2018 European U23 Championships in Gyor, Hungary. She won the gold medal in the 2018 European Cup Malaga, Spain. She won the silver medal in the 2017 Israeli Championships in Ra'anana.
Herhsko won the gold medal in the 2018 Israeli Championships in Tel Aviv.
At the 2019 Montreal Grand Prix in Canada, Hershko won a silver medal, and at the 2019 European Open Cluj Napoca in Romania she won a bronze medal. She won the gold medal in the 2019 Israeli Championships in Tel Aviv. In November 2020, she had elbow surgery.

2020 Tokyo Olympics (in 2021); bronze medal

Hershko represented Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics in 2021, competing at the women's +78 kg weight category. Hershko won her first match with an ippon against the Saudi Tahani Alqahtani in 42 seconds, advancing to the round of 16. There, she met the 2019 world champion – Japan's Akira Sone. Hershko lost to Sone, ending her part in the individual competition. She won an Olympic bronze medal in the mixed team.

2021–present; European Champion, and world championship bronze medal

Hershko won the gold medals at the 2021 Antalya Grand Slam in Turkey and the 2021 Paris Grand Slam in France. She also won bronze medals at the 2021 Baku Grand Slam and the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Slam.
Hershko won the silver medal at the 2022 European Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. She also won gold medals at the 2022 Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam in Mongolia and the 2022 Zagreb Grand Prix in Croatia. She won a silver medal at the 2022 Antalya Grand Slam in Turkey, and bronze medals at the 2022 World Masters in Jerusalem, Israel, the 2022 Tel Aviv Grand Slam in Israel, and the 2022 Budapest Grand Slam in Hungary.
Hershko won a bronze medal at the 2023 World Championships in Doha, Qatar. She won the silver medal at the 2023 European Championships in Montpellier, France. She won gold medals at the 2023 Tel Aviv Grand Slam in Israel and the 2023 Tbilisi Grand Slam in Georgia, a silver medal at the 2023 Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam in Mongolia, and bronze medals at the 2023 Baku Grand Slam and the 2023 Tokyo Grand Slam. She won the gold medal in the 2023 Israeli Championships.
Hershko won the gold medal at the 2024 European Championships in Zagreb, Croatia. She dedicated her medal to Israeli Yonatan Goutin, who was killed by Hamas terrorists in the October 7 attack on Kibbutz Be'eri in the Be'eri massacre. She won a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Grand Slam in France.

2024 Paris Olympics; Silver medal

Representing Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Hershko won the silver medal in judo in the women's +78 kg. She defeated Marit Kamps of the Netherlands, Milica Žabić of Serbia, former two-time European champion Kayra Özdemir of Turkey, and then lost in the final to five-time Pan American champion Beatriz Souza of Brazil. She also competed in the mixed team event, in which Team Israel came in ninth. She said:
Since October 7, I feel the extra need to not only succeed for myself but I want to succeed for the entire country.,,, The medal isn’t just for me but for all of us. I wanted to represent our flag the best way that I could, and show what type of country we are during these very tough times.

Titles

Source:
YearTournamentPlaceRef.
2019Grand Prix Montreal
2021Grand Slam Antalya
2021Grand Slam Paris
2021Grand Slam Baku
2021Grand Slam Abu Dhabi
2022Grand Slam Tel Aviv
2022Grand Slam Antalya
2022European Championships
2022Grand Slam Ulaanbaatar
2022Grand Slam Budapest
2022Grand Prix Zagreb
2022World Masters
2023Grand Slam Tel Aviv
2023Grand Slam Tbilisi
2023World Championships
2023Grand Slam Ulaanbaatar
2023European Championships
2023Grand Slam Tokyo
2024Grand Slam Paris
2024European Championships
2024Olympic Games
2025Grand Slam Paris
2025European Championships
2025Grand Prix Lima
2025Grand Prix Guadalajara