Israeli Paralympics athlete wins gold medal in taekwondo

In 2020, Yasur narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Tokyo Games, but subsequently won the World Para Taekwondo Championships in 2021 and 2023 and entered the Paralympics this year as the world’s top-ranked competitor in his weight class.

According to the Times of Israel, Yasur said after the match that three of his brothers who had served in the IDF over the past year “gave me strength”.

“With everything my country is going through… this is the least I could do for my country,” he said, adding that he hopes for the return of the hostages, an end to the war and for “all the soldiers to return home healthy and whole”.

TOI reported that President Isaac Herzog spoke to Yasur after his win and reminisced about the first time he had spoken to Yasur following his accident in 2015, which made national headlines: “Since then you have been a source of inspiration for me,” President Herzog told him.

“Today you gave a huge gift to the State of Israel, a huge gift to many of those wounded in the war and wounded in the horrible terror attack. You gave them hope,” he said.