Aug. 19, 2004
Ze’evi earns respect for Israel with judo bronze
Frankie Sachs

"Mazel tov, Arik,‘ Prime Minister Arik Sharon belted out over the phone lines to his namesake judoka Arik Ze’evi hours after the three-time European judo champ added an Olympic bronze medal to his trophy case. ’We’re very proud of you and [the people of Israel] take part in your joy… You withstood the pressure like a true warrior."

Sharon usually reserves such words for national heroes, which is what Ze’evi has become following his ippon victory over Dutch champ Elco van der Geest in the bronze medal match of the under-100 kg judo competition in Athens on Thursday.

On the sixth day of competition, some 2,000 loud Israeli fans packed into the Ano Liossia Olympic Hall to see one of Israel’s top medal hopefuls, and Ze’evi did not disappoint. The 27-year-old won five bouts, all via ippon, Judo’s equivalent of a knockout, on his way to bringing Israel its fifth Olympic medal ever, and its third in judo.

His lone defeat came at the hands of eventual silver medal winner, Korean Sung ho Jang, in the quarterfinals in a bout that Ze’evi seemed to be in complete control of.

"The Korean beat me because of a mistake caused by tiredness, a lapse in concentration,‘ Ze’evi later told Channel 1. ’After all, I was leading."

Ze’evi was all smiles as Israeli International Olympic Committee member Alex Gilady crowned him with an olive branch wreath and presented him with his medal. Gilady was also on hand to present the Israeli medallists at the past two Olympics, Gal Friedman in Atlanta and Michael Kolganov in Sydney, with their medals.

Despite his impressive performance, Ze’evi later admitted that he wasn’t at his best, though it was hard to tell at times. His day began with a tough bout against Mario Sabino of Brazil. In a very tactical match-up, the Israeli was ahead on points when the referee awarded him a victory with eight seconds remaining by Hansoku-make, the equivalent of an ippon, for Sabino’s mounting minor violations.

Next he threw down Italian Michele Monti in a bout that lasted 4:14 and sent him to the quarterfinals. Ze’evi took control with an early waza-ari move, worth five points, at the 3:17 mark, when he lifted Jang and dropped on his side. However, the bout was stopped immediately after the move for the second time to stop the bleeding from a small cut on the Israeli’s nose. The trainer wrapped a bandage over Ze’evi’s nose, behind his ears, and around his head to ensure that the blood would not come through, since the referee could disqualify the Israeli for a third medical treatment.

Ze’evi never regained his confidence after that point, reverting to a much more defensive style. The Korean eventually found a way to lift Ze’evi as they were grappling for position near the corner of the mat, and the Israeli was unable to break his hold before he found himself on his back and out of contention for a gold medal.

At that point, many of the other judokas might have been broken, but Ze’evi showed his heart as he rebounded in the consolation bouts. "I’ve never competed in such an atmosphere, it was like a basketball arena,‘ Ze’evi complimented the fans that traveled to see him. ’The Israelis with the singing and the flags drowned out all the other fans in the hall." With all that support behind him, Ze’evi came out against Cameroonian Franck Martial Moussima in his first bout in the repechage group and recorded his third win, although he needed the full five minutes before he was awarded an ippon for locking down his opponent for 25 seconds.

Next he took on world runner-up Ghislain Lemaire, who seemed almost disinterested in the bout, allowing Ze’evi to pin him down and hold him as well for a 25 count to record the ippon after 2:48 and set up a chance for the bronze medal. Finally, with the medal on the line, Ze’evi proved to be unstoppable against van der Geest, who earlier in the day shocked the gold medal favorite, Kosei Inoue of Japan.

It took nearly three minutes for Ze’evi to score first, recording a koka, one point, for dropping the Dutchman on his derriere. Once he was trailing, van der Geest began to attack more and opened himself up to Ze’evi during an attempt to sweep him. Ze’evi responded by reversing the move and heaving van der Geest squarely onto his back for an ippon to secure the win to the delight of the Israelis in the crowd.