Ofir Shaham (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: אופיר שחם, born 23 November 2004) 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 ...

rhythmic gymnast Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and coordi ...

. She won gold in the group All-Around at the 2022 European Championship and silver in the same category at the 2022 World Championships.

Personal life

She began the sport at age nine, in search of a dance class she arrived at the sports hall where rhythmic gymnasts' trained. She was drawn to the combination of gymnastics, dance, apparatus, and flashy clothes, after winning an Israeli championship at age 12 she decided that she wanted to go as far as possible. Her ultimate dream is to compete at the

2024 Olympic Games ) , nations = TBA , athletes = 10,500 ''(quota limit)'' , events = 329 in 32 sports (48 disciplines) , opening = 26 July 2024 , closing = 11 August 2024 , opened_by = , stadium = Stade de France Jardins du Trocadéro and River Seine , summer ...

, her idol is

Neta Rivkin Neta Rivkin ( he, נטע ריבקין; born June 19, 1991) is a retired Israeli individual rhythmic gymnast. She is one of Israel's most successful rhythmic gymnasts. A three-time Olympian, in 2011 she won the silver medal in clubs at the 20 ...

. She studied at the Moshav High School

Career

In September 2021 auditions for the new Israeli national group began, about 30 girls from all over the country auditioned. The qualifiers were physically and mentally difficult, gymnasts were dropped out until nine gymnasts remained, and since January of this year she trains for 11 hours a day, 6 days a week at the Wingate Institute. The team debuted at the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, winning gold in 5 hoops and 3 ribbons + 2 balls. Then

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

, where they got bronze in the All-Around and 5 hoops.

Pamplona Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near above ...

(All-Around silver),

Portimão Portimão () is a city and a municipality in the district of Faro, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 55,614, in an area of 182.06 km2. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão (). In 1924, it was ...

(All-Around gold) and

Cluj-Napoca ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status , subdivision_name2 ...

(All-Around and 5 hoops silver). In June she participated in the

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

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 the group won the All-Around and got silver with 5 hoops as well as the bronze medal in the senior team category along with teammates Adar Friedmann,

Amit Hedvat Amit Hedvat (Hebrew: עמית חדבת; born 2004) is a retired Israeli rhythmic gymnast. She won gold in the group All-Around at the 2022 European Championship and silver in the same category at the 2022 World Championships. Career Juni ...

Romi Paritzki Romi Paritzki (Hebrew: רומי פריצקי: born on 17 June 2004) is an Israeli rhythmic gymnast. She won the gold medal in the group All-Around at the 2022 European Championship and a silver medal in the same category at the 2022 World Cham ...

, Shani Bakanov,

Diana Svertsov Diana Svertsov (Hebrew: דיאנה סברצוב: born 15 November 2004) is an Israeli rhythmic gymnast. She won gold in the group All-Around at the 2022 European Championship and silver in the same category at the 2022 World Championships. Ca ...

and the individuals

Daria Atamanov Daria Atamanov ( he, דריה אטמנוב; born December 6, 2005) is an Israeli individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2022 European All-Around Champion, Silver medallist in Hoop, Clubs, Ribbon, and Team Bronze medallist. During her junior car ...

and

Adi Asya Katz Adi Asia Katz ( he, עדי כץ; born 31 March 2004) is an Israeli rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2022 European bronze medallist in Ribbon, and Team Bronze medallist. As a Junior, She was the 2019 Junior World silver medalist with Ribbon and bron ...

. In September Shani took part in the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

along Adar Friedmann,

and

, winning two silver medals in the All-Around and the 5 hoops' final. Despite being among the favourites for a team medal, Israel couldn't take part in the competition because Atamanov broke her foot the day before the competition started and, as replacements had to be announced at least 24 hours before competition, leaving the country with only Katz as individual. In Sofia they won silver in the All-Around and with 5 hoops. In 2023 at the first

of the season in Athens the group won gold in the All-Around and with 5 hoops as well as silver with 3 ribbons + 2 balls. In Sofia they won silver in the All-Around and with 5 hoops.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaham, Ofir 2004 births Living people Israeli rhythmic gymnasts Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships 21st-century Israeli sportswomen