Ariel "Arik" Ze'evi (; born 16 January 1977) is an Israeli retired dan 6 black belt in

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

. He had a long and successful career competing in half-heavyweight judo competitions. He won an Olympic bronze medal at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

in the men's 100 kg judo competition.

Biography

Ze'evi is

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, and was born and raised in

Bnei Brak Bnei Brak ( ) or Bene Beraq, is a city located on the central Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an area of 709 hectares (1,752 acre ...

, Israel, a predominantly Orthodox Jewish city in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. While growing up, he trained in the local judo club in his neighborhood, together with his older brother, Roni, who was also the club's first local gold medal pioneer after having finished first in the national Israeli Judo Championships. Ze'evi, heavily influenced by his brother and his accomplishment, began training intensively, and at the age of 15 won his first national competition in the adult class, becoming the country's youngest champion ever. Despite the lack of advanced training facilities, Ze'evi continued training in his local club and steadily closed the gap to world class level, and began competing abroad. In his personal life, Ze'evi obtained a LLB degree from

Reichman University Reichman University () is Israel's only private university, located in Herzliya, Tel Aviv District. It was founded in 1994 as the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC Herzliya, ) private college, before being rebranded in 2021. It receives n ...

(formerly Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya) in

Herzliya Herzliya ( ; , / ) is an affluent List of Israeli cities, city in the Israeli coastal plain, central coast of Israel, at the northern part of the Tel Aviv District, known for its robust start-up and entrepreneurial culture. In it had a populatio ...

. He also hosted a sports television show for the

Israeli Broadcasting Authority The Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA; ) was Israel's public broadcaster from 1948 to 2017, succeeded by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation. History The Israel Broadcasting Authority was an outgrowth of the radio station ''Kol Yisr ...

Judo career

Ze'evi won a bronze medal in judo in the 95 kg at the

1997 Maccabiah Games The 15th Maccabiah Games are primarily remembered for being marred by a Maccabiah bridge collapse, bridge collapse that killed several participants. The Maccabiah had more than 5,000 athletes from 33 countries competing in 36 sports. New sports fo ...

. Ze'evi placed 5th competing for Israel at the 2000 Summer Olympics in the men's 100 kg division, before winning a bronze medal representing Israel at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens 2004 in the men's 100 kg division. Ze'evi won

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

gold in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and silve in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

. He has also won four bronze medals in European Championships. Ze'evi also won the silver medal in the open category at the 2001 World Championships. Ze'evi missed the 2005 World championships in Cairo due to a shoulder injury, and subsequently underwent surgery to repair the damage.Judo / Ze'evi begins physical therapy but will miss championships
Haaretz, 22 August 2007 Representing Israel at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Ze'evi failed to win a medal after losing his second match in the repechage bracket. Ze'evi told the Israeli media he does not want to end his career without a victory (probably hinting at the Judo World Championships in 2009). According to the

International Judo Federation The International Judo Federation (IJF) is the international governing body for judo, founded in July 1951. Today the IJF has 200 National Federations on all continents. There are over 20 million people around the globe who practice judo, accordi ...

's World Ranking List, as of April 2012, Ze'evi was ranked #8. Ze'evi became a European champion for the fourth time in 2012, winning the competition in Chelyabinsk, Russia.

Achievements

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ze'evi, Ariel 1977 births Living people Israeli male judoka Competitors at the 1997 Maccabiah Games Maccabiah Games medalists in judo Maccabiah Games bronze medalists for Israel Olympic judoka for Israel Judoka at the 2000 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2004 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2008 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Israel People from Bnei Brak Olympic medalists in judo Jewish Israeli sportspeople Reichman University alumni Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Biography

Judo career

Achievements

See also

References

External links