Mixed judo teams of Israel and Germany cherish Olympic medal

The team of Israel went totally nuts after their bronze victory against Russia at the mixed team event in Tokyo. Lighweight Timna Nelson Levy was the one who could make the decision in the last contest against Daria Mezhetskaia.

Timna Nelson Levy: "It means a lot, so much, because it shows what a team we are. It shows the fighting spirit we have. We were fighting for years, and this is one of the biggest dreams. We just made history, and I am so proud of my team and all of the athletes sitting here with me today. Judo is one of the most equal sports that there is today. The payment for winning is the same. The amount of athletes that can participate in the competition is the same. The number of weight categories for men and women is the same. Our sport is giving an example for the rest of the world to act. This competition is a representation of equality. I think it is amazing."

Peter Paltchik defeated heavyweight Tamerlan Bashaev, the man who overcame teddy Riner in the individual tournament. "This win is so important to our nation, to all Israel, to all the young generation, young kids who want to dream about sport and achievements and goals. When they saw us today fighting with that spirit, with that heart, united as one team, strong, I think that gave them a lot of inspiration to reach their goals, reach their dreams. If one of those kids, one day, goes on to achieve an Olympic medal, they will think of that moment when they were young."

But this week didn’t go as planned: "In that very hard week, we didn't succeed as individuals. When we came together as a team, each one of us fought a little bit more and gave a little extra effort for that win. You could see it in our fighting spirit. For each fight, we got stronger and more united and more passionate for that medal. When we were going against one of the biggest empires of sport in the world, Russia, it was a very hard challenge for us. But each one of us gave our heart for that win and I think it's more special because we really had a very, very tough week, each one of us. We cried, we spilled a lot of tears. It is special because of it."

Sagi Muki also wanted to compensate his individual performance and will arrive in Israel with an Olympic medal: "We take this and we understand that we are one of the biggest teams in the world. We were fighting against one of the strongest nations, France. Everyone here gave their heart to win. This medal is for Israel. Israel is a small country with a lot of noise and many enemies around us. I think it says a lot that we survived so many wars and in this last period, and I think that this is the blood that we survived all of these things and now we have this medal, together."

Germany overwhelmed with bronze victory over Dutch team

Brother Johannes and Karl Richard Frey swopped and Karl Richard Frey had to beat heavyweight Henk Grol of the Netherlands for bronze.  Frey: "A team competition is very special because you are also nervous for your teammates, and the adrenaline sinks and increases with the other members all day long, and you also have to try and concentrate on yourself and your own competition, your own fight. It is a big challenge, and it is the biggest difference in comparison to the single fight."

What do you think about the first mixed team judo event in the Olympic Games? Frey: “It’s very special we compete together with the women. It’s the first time here in Tokyo, and it is very special to us. We were looking forward to it because we are a very strong team on both sides. It was very, very nice to have women on our team and see them fight. We were all very motivated, and we grew a lot closer, and we cooperated even more. It will help us all in the future.”

Igor Wandtke didn’t fight U73kg in the bronze medal contest but earlier on the day he defeated Shohei Ono, his first defeat since 2015: "Now I have shown I can beat everyone, and today it was Ono. I am proud. I am very respectful of him, he is the greatest, but today I took my chance."