It seems that at 24, the outstanding judoka Inbar Lanir is in exactly the right place, in the starting position that could propel her straight into the hall of fame of Israeli sports. Six month before the Paris Olympics, Lanir is currently considered one of Israel’s great promises for a medal – and she will represent us on the biggest stage in world sports.
She ended 2023 at her peak. As the current world champion in the under 78 kg weight category, Lanir was positioned at the top of world judo as ranked number 1 in the world. At the World Championship held in May last year in Qatar, she snatched the gold medal in her weight category and became the third Israeli in history to win the prestigious world title. “When I won the World Championship – I’m on the podium, a gold medal on my neck and ‘Hatikvah’ in the background on Qatari soil – it was an unimaginable moment for me”, Lanir describes the emotional event.
“That same year I also won the prestigious Masters tournament in which only the ‘top 32’ from each category participate. I won all my fights in this tournament in less than one minute. It was a tournament that was talked about in the entire judo world”, Lanir recounts about the crazy year she had, during which she was the only athlete in the world, from both men and women, who won the two most prestigious competitions in the field. “For years I had a small note hung on the fridge at home with all the names of the ‘top 10’ of the world ranking. I always dreamed of the day when I too would be on the list in 1st place – a goal I achieved this year and there’s no one prouder than me about it”.
She entered the world of judo at age 6 in a neighborhood club in her hometown of Yehud, and before she celebrated her 13th birthday, she was already chosen to represent the country in the Israeli national team. Since then, the outstanding judoka has won a plethora of medals and titles: at 19, she won her first medal at the European Championship under 23, and just a year later she snatched the gold medal in the same competition. At 21, she participated in the Tokyo Olympics and won the group bronze medal together with the judo team.
In recent years, Lanir has been consistently ranked in the world’s top ten, last year she won the World Championship for seniors and the Masters tournament (one of the three most important in the judo world), and since then she has been ranked first in the world. Today she dedicates all her time and energy to preparations for the Paris Olympics.
“At the beginning of the war, I focused on advocacy and contribution, whether by sharing content on social networks, collecting donations, or visiting wounded and soldiers. There’s no doubt that what’s happening seeps in and reaches the training hall and competitions. I’m very connected to what’s happening and I understood that my role is to represent the country with honor. This is what’s in my control and this is what gives me more fuel and motivation to work hard and raise the flag as high as possible, to bring pride and bring some good news in this challenging period”.
