Noam Gershony ( he, נועם גרשוני, born 30 January 1983) is an

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

wheelchair tennis Wheelchair tennis is one of the forms of tennis adapted for wheelchair users. The size of the court, net height and rackets are the same, but there are two major differences from pedestrian tennis: athletes use specially designed wheelchairs, a ...

player. At the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

he won a gold medal in

Quad singles Quad as a word or prefix usually means 'four'. It may refer to: Government * Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States * Quadrilateral group, an informal group which inc ...

and shared a bronze in Quad doubles with

Shraga Weinberg Shraga Weinberg (born 25 March 1966 in Petach Tiqva) is an Israeli wheelchair tennis player. Weinberg was born in 1966, paralyzed in his upper body. He also has bone density abnormalities, which caused him to go through many surgeries in his y ...

Biography

Gershony served in the

Israeli Defense Force The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branch ...

as a pilot in the

attack helicopter An attack helicopter is an armed helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the offensive capability of engaging ground targets such as enemy infantry, military vehicles and fortifications. Due to their heavy armament they ...

Boeing AH-64 Apache The Boeing AH-64 Apache () is an American twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night visi ...

. During the

2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...

his helicopter collided with another helicopter, an event which killed his co-pilot and left Gershony injured. He had many

bone fracture A bone fracture (abbreviated FRX or Fx, Fx, or #) is a medical condition in which there is a partial or complete break in the continuity of any bone in the body. In more severe cases, the bone may be broken into several fragments, known as a '' ...

s and injuries in his four limbs. He went through medical rehabilitation and joined Beit Halochem sport centre in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

where he started playing wheelchair tennis and surfing. Besides his sports career, Gershony volunteers at "Makom Acher", a hostel for at-risk youth in Tel Aviv, and teaches

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

to teenagers.

Tennis career

Gerhsony joine
Beit Halochem Sport Center for Disabled Veterans
in 2007 and began training, led by Coach Nimrod Bichler. In December 2010, Gerhsony won first place in Quad Singles at an international tournament for wheelchair tennis in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. At the same tournament he also shared first place in the Quad Doubles with a French competitor. After this event he was ranked 29th in the world. In September 2011 he qualified for the US Open finals. In November 2011 he won first place in the

Tennis Masters Series The ATP Masters 1000 tournaments (previously known as ATP Masters Series) is an annual series of nine tennis tournaments featuring the top-ranked players on the ATP Tour. The series' events have been held in Europe and North America since the ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, in which the four best players in the world were participating. It was the first time an Israeli player qualified for the Quad Singles finals in that tournament. In January 2012 he won first place in

Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...

events for wheelchair tennis in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, after beating David Wagner, who was ranked second in the world. In April 2012 he beat the gold medalist from the 2008 Summer Paralympics,

Peter Norfolk Peter Robert Norfolk OBE (born 13 December 1960) is a British wheelchair tennis player. Following a motorbike accident which left him paraplegic, he uses a wheelchair. He took up tennis and following a further spinal complication in 2000, he ...

, and won the

Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...

Open event. In May 2012 he reached the Doubles Quad semi-finals in the

Japan Open Tennis Championships The Japan Open (currently sponsored by Rakuten) is a men's tennis tournament held in Ariake Tennis Forest Park with its center court Ariake Coliseum, located in Koto, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally founded in 1915 as the Japan International Ch ...

. On 1 July 2012 he won first place in Quad Singles in the

French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...

tournament, and shared second place in Quad Doubles with Boaz Kramer. Later that year he participated in the

. He won a gold medal in Quad Singles and shared a bronze medal with Shraga Weinberg. He was then selected to be his nation's flag-bearer at the

2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony The closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Paralympics, also known as ''The Festival of the Flame'', was held on 9 September at the Olympic Stadium in London. Kim Gavin (who also directed the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics) served as ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gershony, Noam 1983 births Living people Israeli male tennis players Wheelchair tennis players Paralympic wheelchair tennis players of Israel Paralympic gold medalists for Israel Paralympic bronze medalists for Israel Paralympic medalists in wheelchair tennis Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair tennis players at the 2012 Summer Paralympics People from Kfar Saba 21st-century Israeli people