Tohar Butbul

Butbul grew up in Kadima-Zoran and moved to Hadera at the age of fifteen.[1] He began training in judo at age four under coach Oren Smadja, who would later become a central figure in Israeli judo.[1]

As a junior competitor, Butbul represented Israel at the 2014 European under-21 championships in Bucharest, competing at under 73 kg.[2] He defeated opponents from Cyprus, Armenia, and Poland before losing in the semifinal to a Dutch judoka, then secured the bronze medal by defeating a Portuguese opponent by ippon.[2]

Butbul established himself among Israel's leading judokas across a decade of senior international competition. A 2021 profile identified his 2019 silver at the Judo Masters tournament in China as the high point of his career at that time.[1] Earlier in 2021, he won bronze at the Tel Aviv Grand Slam, defeating Georgia's Lasha Shavdatuashvili — an Olympic champion and then-reigning European silver medalist — in golden score after Shavdatuashvili received a third penalty.[1]

Later that year, Butbul reached the final of the 2021 European Judo Championships in Lisbon in the under-73 kg category, winning silver — his first European Championship medal.[3][4] On the way to the final, he defeated Romania's Alexandru Raicu, Montenegro's Marko Gusic, Italy's Giovanni Esposito, and Turkey's Bilal Çiloglu.[4] The final ended in golden score when Kosovo's Akil Gjakova scored a waza-ari to claim the gold.[4]

At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Butbul competed in the men's 73-kilogram individual division, advancing past Moldova's Victor Stepru before losing in the quarterfinal to South Korea's Changrim An and in the repechage to Canada's Arthur Margelidon. He finished seventh overall.[5][6] In the mixed-team event, he lost to Italy's Fabio Basile and France's Guillaume Chaine before defeating Brazil's Eduardo Barbosa in the repechage.[6] Israel ultimately defeated the team competing under the Russian Olympic Committee 4–1 in the bronze-medal match.[7]

At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Butbul received a walkover into the round of 16 after Algeria's Messaoud Dris was disqualified for being 400 grams over the 73-kilogram weight limit at the weigh-in.[8] He then lost to Azerbaijan's Hidayat Heydarov — the reigning world champion and world number one — after receiving three penalties in extended golden score.[9][10] Butbul said afterward that he had given 100 percent but was unhappy with the result.[9] In the mixed-team event, he helped Israel defeat Mongolia 4–3 by beating Bashkhuu Yondonperenlei by ippon in golden score. Israel was then eliminated by France, 4–0; Butbul's bout against Joan-Benjamin Gaba lasted more than eight minutes and ended with a third penalty in golden score.[11]

Butbul's principal senior achievements included his 2021 European Championship silver medal, seventh-place finish in the Tokyo individual competition, and Olympic bronze as part of Israel's mixed team.[3][12] His move into coaching brought him back alongside Oren Smadja, under whom he had trained from childhood.[1][12]

Butbul began working with younger members of Israel's judo program in early 2025 and formally announced his retirement that February. He said injuries, age, family considerations, and the demands of elite competition had shaped the decision.[13] While taking a coaching course at the Wingate Institute, he set a goal of developing a strong squad over the next four-year Olympic cycle.[13]

Competing as an Israeli judoka exposed Butbul to several incidents that drew attention beyond the sport. At the 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Slam, he defeated the United Arab Emirates' Rashad Almashjari, who then declined the customary handshake. Butbul went on to win bronze at the tournament.[14]

At Tokyo 2020, Algeria's Fethi Nourine withdrew before a possible second-round meeting with Butbul and later received a ten-year ban. Sudan's Mohamed Abdalrasool subsequently failed to appear for his scheduled bout against Butbul despite having attended the weigh-in.[5][8] The International Judo Federation and Sudanese Olympic officials did not immediately confirm a reason for Abdalrasool's absence.[5]

At Paris 2024, Dris's failed weigh-in again placed Butbul at the center of political debate surrounding refusals to face Israeli athletes. The formal reason for Dris's disqualification was that he exceeded the weight limit, and the International Judo Federation announced a post-Games review.[8] Butbul responded with a message of reconciliation, saying he hoped peace would eventually allow the two athletes to train together, compete, and shake hands.[8]

Reports portrayed Abdalrasool's absence in Tokyo as an apparent attempt to avoid facing an Israeli, but the responsible officials did not immediately confirm that motive.[5] Dris's disqualification in Paris was formally recorded as a weight violation rather than a politically motivated withdrawal. The International Judo Federation said it would investigate, while Algerian media and Dris's sponsor publicly framed the incident in political terms.[8] Any claim about Dris's personal intent therefore remains distinct from the documented weigh-in result.