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News   Israel News

Israeli judokas win three medals at European Championships

Raz Hershko beat France’s Lea Fontaine, winning gold for the second time in her career.

April 21, 2026
JNS Staff
Gold medalist Raz Hershko celebrates at the European Senior Championships 2026 in Tbilisi, April 19, 2026. Photo by Giorgi Arjevanidze/AFP via Getty Images.
Gold medalist Raz Hershko celebrates at the European Senior Championships 2026 in Tbilisi, Georgia, April 19, 2026. Photo by Giorgi Arjevanidze/AFP via Getty Images.
( Apr. 21, 2026 / JNS )

Israeli athletes won three medals at the European Judo Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia, over the weekend, including a gold medal in the women’s over-78kg category.

Raz Hershko, 27, beat France’s Lea Fontaine in under a minute on Sunday, winning gold for the second time in her judo career, after overcoming Croatia’s Helena Vuković in the semifinal and Italy’s Erika Simonetti in the quarterfinal.

In doing so, Hershko became the third Israeli judoka to win more than one gold medal at the European championship, after Arik Zeevi and Sagi Muki.

The win marked Hershko’s fifth consecutive medal at the continental tournament. In 2022, 2023 and 2025, she won a silver medal, and in 2024, she secured her first gold.

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