Gili Sharir

Sharir was born on 22 November 1999 and is an Israeli judoka in the women's under-63-kilogram division.[1] Her international career began in earnest at the 2018 Hohhot Grand Prix in China, where she reached the final in the under-63-kilogram category.[5] She won four contests along the way, defeating China's Tinxiang Yao by ippon, Mongolia's Mungunchimeg Baldorj on penalties in golden score, France's Yasmine Horlaville by ippon, and Canada's Catherine Pinard in golden score.[5] After injuring her ankle in the final minute of her semifinal, she withdrew from the final on medical advice and finished with silver.[5]

During the Tokyo Olympic qualification period in 2020, Sharir underwent surgery to reconstruct the cruciate ligament in her left knee.[6]

The Tokyo 2020 Games, held in 2021, marked Sharir's Olympic debut at age 21.[7] In the individual women's under-63-kilogram competition, she was eliminated in the round of 32 by Australia's Katharina Hecker after losing on penalties in golden score.[7]

Sharir's Olympics took a different shape in the mixed team event. In Israel's first-round tie against Italy, she first leveled the score at 2–2 by submitting Maria Centracchio with a choke, then was drawn against Centracchio again for the deciding contest and won on penalties after seven minutes.[8] In the quarterfinal against France, Sharir defeated Margaux Pinot after twelve and a half minutes in golden score, but she then lost a rematch to Pinot in the deciding contest. Israel moved into the repechage, where it defeated Brazil 4–2.[8]

In the bronze-medal tie against the Russian Olympic Committee, Sharir lost the opening bout to Madina Taimazova, giving the opponents a 1–0 lead, but Israel rallied to win the match 4–1 and claim bronze.[9][8] The team's medal was described as part of what made the 2020 Olympics Israel's most successful Games at the time.[4]

Sharir's form after Tokyo established her as a consistent presence on the international podium. At the 2022 Judo Masters in Jerusalem, she defeated Croatia's Iva Oberan by ippon and Canada's Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard by waza-ari in golden score before losing her semifinal to Kosovo's Laura Fazliu.[10] In the bronze-medal contest she defeated Australia's Katharina Haecker on penalties, reversing their Tokyo result and breaking a 2–2 tie in their previous head-to-head meetings.[10]

At the 2022 European Judo Championships in Bulgaria, Sharir won bronze in the under-63-kilogram category.[11] After losing in the quarterfinals she entered the repechage, where she faced Spain's Cristina Cabana Perez; despite receiving an early penalty, Sharir scored ippon with eight seconds remaining to secure the medal.[11] Later that year she was part of Israel's judo team that won bronze at the 2022 World Judo Championships in Tashkent.[12]

In February 2023, Sharir took gold at the Paris Grand Slam, defeating opponents from South Korea and France by ippon, Canada's Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard by waza-ari in golden score, and Poland's Angelika Szymanska on penalties in a roughly eight-minute semifinal.[13] In the final, Japan's Nami Nabekura received three penalties to hand Sharir the title.[13] She described the win as her first Grand Slam gold after a "very long and difficult day."[14]

At the 2023 European Championships in Montpellier, France, Sharir won silver — at the time described as the best result of her career.[12] She defeated Sheri Padiya-Guerra in the round of 16, Joan van Lieshout in the quarterfinal, and Angelika Szymanska in the semifinal before losing the final to Slovenia's Andreja Leški.[12] The silver was her second consecutive individual European Championship podium, following the 2022 bronze.[3] After the competition, Sharir dedicated the medal to Israel and those affected by the ongoing war: "The State, the soldiers, those kidnapped and those who were murdered were with me every second of the competition. They gave me a lot of strength and motivation and I dedicate the medal to them."[15]

Sharir competed in the women's under-63-kilogram division at the Paris 2024 Olympics, her second Games.[16][7] In the round of 32 she faced France's Clarisse Agbegnenou — the Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion in the category — and was eliminated after losing 1–0 in golden score.[17][18]

Sharir said she had grown up admiring Agbegnenou and, during the contest, tried to focus on encouragement from Israelis in the arena.[17] "I have worked all of my life for moments like this," she said afterward. "I arrived here prepared and am disappointed to go out in the first fight of the competition."[17]

Sharir sustained her international form beyond Paris. At the Zagreb Judo Grand Prix in November 2025 she won gold in the under-63-kilogram category, defeating Laura Vasquez Fernandez, Lisa Ternjak, and Carlotta Avanzato before beating Britain's Lucy Renshall in a semifinal that extended nearly nine minutes into golden score — Renshall ultimately received a third penalty.[19] In the final, Poland's Angelika Szymanska also received a third penalty in golden score to give Sharir the title.[19] The Zagreb gold was her second of the year, following an earlier European Tour victory in Tallinn in July 2025.[20] Standing on the podium, she reflected: "To raise the Israeli flag and hear Hatikvah on the podium is a feeling like no other."[19]

At the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix in Linz, Sharir added a bronze medal in the under-63-kilogram category. She defeated Hungary's Varga by yuko, lost her quarterfinal to Germany's Bauer in golden score, returned through the repechage with an ippon win over a Croatian opponent, and then defeated Spain's Fernandez in the bronze-medal contest.[21] She described the event as part of her third Olympic campaign, with the 2028 Los Angeles Games in mind.[21]

In 2026, however, Sharir suffered a setback when she tore the cruciate ligament in her right knee during a training camp in Italy and underwent surgery.[6] Having previously reconstructed the cruciate ligament in her left knee in 2020, she chose surgery again with the goal of rehabilitating in time to pursue qualification for Los Angeles.[6]

Sharir's record combines team and individual success. She earned an Olympic bronze medal with Israel's mixed team at Tokyo 2020 and then reached consecutive individual European Championship podiums, taking bronze in 2022 and silver in 2023.[2][3] Her victories at the 2023 Paris Grand Slam and 2025 Zagreb Grand Prix added major international titles.[14][19] Her bronze in Linz in 2026 formed part of what she described as her third Olympic campaign toward Los Angeles 2028.[21]