Shira Rishony

Rishony was born on February 21, 1991.[1] She has said that she began training and competing in judo at the age of six, a commitment that would ultimately span nearly three decades of her life.[2] At her retirement, she said she was happy to have been part of the growth and development of judo in Israel.[2]

Rishony built her international career steadily over more than a decade. A 2025 retrospective credited her with winning three Grand Prix gold medals and one Grand Prix bronze, alongside silver and bronze medals across various international tour events.[3] Her best result at the World Championships was seventh place, achieved in 2015.[3] In 2016, ahead of the Rio Olympics, she won silver in the under-48-kilogram event at the Grand Prix of Havana in Cuba, earning her medal on the Friday of that competition.[4]

Her results improved between the Rio and Tokyo qualification cycles. From May 2014 through March 2016, she earned one Grand Slam medal and two Grand Prix medals; from May 2018 through March 2020, she recorded one Grand Slam medal and four Grand Prix medals. By March 2020, she had secured qualification for the Tokyo Olympics.[5]

She served as captain of Israel's women's judo team, a role that teammates later recalled with warmth, describing her as a supportive older-sister figure to younger judokas.[2] At the time of the 2024 Paris Olympics, she was the oldest judoka on Israel's squad at age 33.[6]

Rishony qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics through a continental quota rather than by world ranking. Her ranking of No. 20 in the under-48-kilogram category fell outside the automatic qualification threshold of the top 14 athletes per weight class, with a limit of one athlete per country.[7]

She was the first Israeli athlete to compete at the Rio Games.[8] Her participation, however, was cut short immediately: Rishony was disqualified in the first round for illegal use of her elbow, giving Ukraine's Maryna Cherniak the win.[8] After her elimination, a tearful Rishony said: "I'm still in shock. I felt I was ready and it hurts me that I couldn't give my all and that it all ended before it really began. It is hard to put in words how much you give and how much you sacrifice and how much you dream of this moment."[8]

The Tokyo Olympics were held from July 23 to August 8, 2021, after being postponed for a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.[9] Rishony entered the Games ranked 15th in the world in the under-48-kilogram category and became the first Israeli athlete at those Games to have a chance at a medal.[10]

She opened her individual competition by defeating Colombia's Luz Alvarez with two waza-ari, then beat Spain's Julia Figueroa by a choking technique after just 51 seconds.[11] Her quarterfinal against Mongolia's Oruntsetseg Munkhbat ended in defeat, but she returned through the repechage bracket, winning a bout against Lin Chen-Hao by ippon in golden score to earn a place in the bronze-medal contest.[11] There, she faced Ukraine's Daria Bilodid, who pinned her in the final second, leaving Rishony in fifth place.[11]

Rishony was also a member of Israel's mixed judo team at Tokyo, which won bronze after defeating the team competing under the Russian Olympic Committee banner 4–1 in the consolation round.[12] Ynet listed her among the Israeli team members, while Sport5 noted that she received a medal as part of the team despite not competing on the day of the team event.[12][6]

At the 2022 European Judo Championships held in Bulgaria, Rishony won bronze in the under-48-kilogram category.[13] After losing in the semifinals, she recovered to defeat Italy's Francesca Milani in the bronze-medal bout.[13] Accounts from the time described it as her first individual medal at a major competition, achieved at age 31, and noted that she had not been at the peak of her physical readiness heading into the event.[14]

The Paris Olympics, held from July 26 to August 11, 2024, were Rishony's third Games.[15][6] She entered with a level head-to-head record of 2–2 against her opening opponent, Kazakhstan's Abiba Abuzhakynova, though their most recent prior meeting, a Grand Prix semifinal in January 2023, had gone to Abuzhakynova.[6] That pattern held at Paris: Abuzhakynova defeated Rishony by waza-ari in the round of 32, ending her individual competition at the first hurdle.[16] Rishony was also identified ahead of the Games as a potential participant in the mixed team event, in which Israel had won bronze at Tokyo.[17]

Rishony announced her retirement in August 2025 at age 34, following surgery on her hand.[2] In her statement, she said she was leaving the sport while still loving it and that she was ready to begin a new path in other areas of life.[2]

At her retirement ceremony, Israel Judo Association chairman Moshe Ponti described her as the women's team's "quiet leader."[3] Teammates remembered her as a supportive presence throughout her time as captain, describing her influence over nearly a decade as formative for younger judokas on the Israeli squad.[2]