Ariel Ze'evi

Ariel "Arik" Ze'evi (Hebrew: אריאל "אריק" זאבי, born 16 January 1977) is a retired Israeli dan 6 black belt in Judo. He had a long and successful career competing in half-heavyweight Judo competitions. He won an Olympic bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics Judo ‍–‍100 kg event in Athens.

Arik Ze'evi
Israeli Olympic bronze medalist Arik Ze'evi (right) and Israeli Olympic gold medalist Gal Fridman (left) in 2004
Personal information
Native nameאריאל "אריק" זאבי‎
Nickname(s)Arik
NationalityIsraeli
Born (1977-01-16) 16 January 1977
OccupationJudo coach
Websitewww.arikzeevi.com
Sport
Country Israel
SportJudo
Weight class–100 kg
Rank     6th dan black belt
Achievements and titles
World Champ.Silver (2001)
European Champ.Gold (2001, 2003, 2004,
Gold( 2012)
Olympic GamesBronze (2004)
Medal record
Men's judo
Representing  Israel
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2004 Athens ‍–‍100 kg
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2001 Munich Open
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2001 Paris ‍–‍100 kg
Gold medal – first place 2003 Düsseldorf ‍–‍100 kg
Gold medal – first place 2004 Bucharest ‍–‍100 kg
Gold medal – first place 2012 Chelyabinsk ‍–‍100 kg
Silver medal – second place 2005 Rotterdam ‍–‍100 kg
Bronze medal – third place 1999 Bratislava ‍–‍100 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Belgrade ‍–‍100 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Lisbon ‍–‍100 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Vienna ‍–‍100 kg
IJF Grand Slam
Gold medal – first place 2011 Moscow ‍–‍100 kg
Silver medal – second place 2010 Tokyo ‍–‍100 kg
IJF Grand Prix
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Baku ‍–‍100 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Qingdao ‍–‍100 kg
European Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 1995 Valladolid ‍–‍86 kg
Bronze medal – third place 1994 Lisbon ‍–‍86 kg
Maccabiah Games
Bronze medal – third place 1997 Maccabiah Games ‍–‍95 kg
Profile at external databases
IJF847
JudoInside.com2770
Updated on 30 May 2023.

Biography

Ze'evi is Jewish,[1] and was born and raised in Bnei Brak, 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 the Interdisciplinary Center college, in Herzliya.

He also hosted a sports television show for the Israeli Broadcasting Authority.

Judo career

Ze'evi won a bronze medal in judo in the U95 at the 1997 Maccabiah Games.[2]

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 in the men's ‍–‍100 kg division.[3]

Ze'evi is the 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2012 European champion and the 2005 silver medalist. 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.[4]

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'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
YearTournamentResult
1999 World Championships 5th
European Championships 3rd
2000 Summer Olympics 5th
2001 European Championships 1st
World Championships 2nd
2002 European Championships 5th
2003 European Championships 1st
2004 Olympic Qualification Championship 1st
European Championships 1st
Summer Olympics 3rd
2005 World Cup, Tallinn (Estonia) 3rd
European Championships 2nd
2007 European Championships 3rd
2008 World Cup Tour, Prague (Czech Republic) 1st
European Championships 3rd
2009 European Championships 5th
2010 European Championships 3rd
Grand Slam Tokyo 2nd
2011 European Championships 7th
Grand Slam Moscow 1st
2012 European Championships 1st

See also

References
  1. "Jews in the Olympics: 63 Athletes from 7 Countries". Jewish Federation of St. Louis. Archived from the original on 7 April 2012.
  2. "JudoInside - Maccabiah Games Tel Aviv Event".
  3. "Judoka Arik Ze'evi earns Israel its first medal at Games". Archived from the original on 10 March 2008. Retrieved 13 January 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) Haaretz,19 August 2004
  4. Judo / Ze'evi begins physical therapy but will miss championships Haaretz, 22 August 2007
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