The 2024 Paralympics wrapped up Sept. 8 and in a display of immense pride, the Paris Games saw some of the best performances of Jewish and Israeli athletes to date.
Jewish and Israeli athletes earned 13 medals in Paris — 10 of which were clinched by the Israeli delegation. This comes just weeks after 21 Jewish athletes took home 18 medals at the Olympics.
Jewish and Israeli athletes have participated in the Paralympics since its inception in 1960. To date, Israeli athletes have amassed a total of 394 medals: 133 Gold, 127 Silver, and 134 Bronze. Paris marked the nation’s most successful performance in 20 years.
The Jewish community places a profound value on the sanctity of life and is widely recognized for its commitment to inclusivity and accessibility. While Israel (and the world at large) has made substantial progress in accommodating individuals with disabilities and enhancing inclusivity, there remain significant challenges before society becomes fully accessible, making events like the Paralympics that provide opportunities for athletes with disabilities to show off their skills.
Now that the final tally has been counted, get to know the Jewish and Israeli Paralympians who medaled at the 2024 Paralympics:
Ami Dadaon
Swimmer Ami Dadaon came on top as the most decorated Israeli athlete of the 2024 games, claiming four of Israel’s 10 medals: two gold (in the 100-meter freestyle and 200-meter freestyle), one silver in the 150-meter individual medley, and one bronze in the 50-meter freestyle.
Dadaon, a native of Haifa, lives with cerebral palsy. He fell in love with sports at the age of six, originally as a rehabilitative activity.
Dadaon made headlines in one of the most powerful moments of the Paralympics when he proudly sang “Hatikvah” after winning his first gold medal.
“I was able to represent the people of Israel, I have no words to describe [the feeling],” Dadaon said, per Haaretz. “When I’m in the water, I don’t think about anything, only the race. But now I know that I will sing Hatikvah during this time, that’s all I wanted — to represent the people of Israel in this period and to give them hope.”
“Giving hope to people is the added meaning of what we’re doing here. I have three more races to go. I hope every child and adult who sees this and is struggling knows that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel,” Dadaon said.
At the 2022 World Championships, the 23-year-old won three gold medals. A year later, he added another four to his hardware collection. He was awarded an Israeli Paralympic Sportsman of the Year award in 2023.
Asaf Yasur
Taekwondo athlete Asaf Yasur, 22, kicked off the Paris Games by winning a gold medal on the first day of the Paralympics.
Yasur lost both of his hands when he was electrocuted at age 13. The K44 Class, the class in which Yasur competes, is for athletes who have lost both hands, one hand, or a toe, which affects the ability to lift a heel.
Yasur expressed his excitement before the games: “Representing Israel, especially in these challenging times, is something I deeply cherish. I come as a champion, which adds pressure, but I’m here to enjoy the experience and ultimately fulfill my dream of competing in the Paralympics.”
Ezra Frech
Team USA track and field star Ezra Frech achieved a remarkable breakout by winning a gold medal on consecutive days in the men’s 100-meter T-63 and high jump T-63 events. Frech, born without a left knee shinbone and with only one finger on his left hand, expressed his aspiration to become “the greatest Paralympian of all time” to NBC.
The 19-year-old’s mother is a Persian-Jewish actress who was born in Iran. Earlier this year, Frech committed to the University of Southern California and was the first above-the-knee amputee to be recruited to a Division I athletic program. At USC, he will compete against non-disabled athletes.
Frech hopes to be viewed as someone “who changed the way the Paralympics are viewed forever” and as “someone who normalized disability on a global scale and as an example of what is possible as an amputee.”
A passionate disability rights activist, Frech was born without most of his left leg and missing fingers on his left hand. He has used a prosthetic leg since he was 11 months old. In 2006, his family founded Team Ezra, which helps fund organizations that aid people with physical disabilities. Five years later, Frech and his father created Angel City Sports, providing free year-round competitive opportunities, training, and equipment for those with disabilities.
Frech began his career as a motivational speaker at the age of four, advocating for people with physical disabilities. He is featured in the new book “What Jewish Looks Like,” which celebrates Jewish heroes across various fields.
With his sights set on the 2028 games in Los Angeles, Frech aims to secure a “triple crown” by winning the long jump, high jump, and 100-meter sprint.
Guy Sasson
Just a few months before the 2024 Paralympics , Israeli wheelchair tennis player Guy Sasson was in Roland-Garros where he won his first career grand slam in the French Open Quad Singles event, which occurred the same day four hostages were rescued from Gaza. As a result, Sasson said that his title “belongs to Israel.”
At the Paralympics in Paris, the 43-year-old earned a bronze medal.
“If I managed to make people watching at home a little happy, especially the families of the fallen and the hostages, if this hope and this joy can give them a small smile on their faces, then I think we’ve done our part,” Sasson told Sport5 after his win.
Sasson is a native of the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan. After a 2015 snowboarding accident in France, his lower body became paralyzed. He turned to wheelchair tennis in 2018 and topped the podium at the Israel Wheelchair Tennis Championship the next year.
The world No. 3 reportedly watched a video about the hostages and victims of the Oct. 7 attack before his matches to give him motivation.
Ian Seidenfeld
American table tennis star Ian Seidenfeld, 23, won his second career Paralympic medal, a bronze, in the men’s singles MS6 competition.
Seidenfeld, a Minnesota native, is coached by his father, Mitchell, who is a three-time Paralympian and four-time medalist. Ian and his father were born with Pseudoachondroplasia dwarfism, a rare genetic condition that causes a form of dwarfism characterized by short limbs.
At the Tokyo Games, Seidenfeld pulled off an upset, by defeating the No. 1 player in the world and clinching the gold medal.
Mitchell Seidenfeld played with fellow Jewish Paralympian Tahl Leibovitz in 1996 but lost in the opening round. Leibovitz competed in his 7th Paralympics this year.
Israeli women’s goalball team
The Israeli Paralympic women’s goalball team took home its first-ever silver medal, the first top-3 finish for an Israeli team sport since 1988, also a silver.
The players for the title match consisted of Lihi Ben David, 28, Elham Mahamid, 34, Noa Malka, 21, Gal Hamrani, 31, Or Mizrahi, 31, and Roni Ohayon, 25.
While political demonstrations are prohibited from Olympic venues, small accessories have not been a statute for disqualification. The team wore yellow ribbons in their hair to show solidarity with the Israeli hostages in Gaza.
“I think it’s a huge honor,” Malka told Sport5 after the team’s semifinal win. “The situation in Israel is always on our minds throughout the tournament. I’m so proud of the team and of the girls, I’m proud to be a part of this thing… We knew the whole time what we were capable of, and today we proved it.”
Goalball, one of the two Paralympic sports that have no Olympic counterpart, is a handball-style sport specifically designed for people with vision impairments — teams of three attempt to throw a ball embedded with bells into their opponents’ goals for points.
Mark Malyar
In his second Paralympics appearance, para-swimmer Mark Malyar took home the bronze in the 100-meter backstroke final. The 24-year-old lives with cerebral palsy and is a world record holder in the 400-meter freestyle, 800-meter 1,500-meter freestyle, and 200-meter individual medley. Malyar also holds four world championship medals.
His brother, Ariel, has a similar condition. Malyar started hydrotherapy when he was 5-years-old after it was recommended as a treatment by the brothers’ orthopedic doctor. The swimmer’s significant progress began at age 10 when he started being coached by Yaakov Beninson. By 13, he was on the national team and began to rack up achievements.
Malyar expressed his gratitude to Israel in his victory statement: “I want to thank all the soldiers who protect us; it’s because of them that we’re here. Thanks to them, we can train and compete. There’s an incredible crowd here, unlike Tokyo, where there were no spectators. It feels great to win a medal here. Hearing the crowd cheer for me made me realize the difference between Paris and Tokyo, which felt like just another competition. I know my starts aren’t strong, so my plan was to finish strong. I’m glad it worked.”
Moran Samuel
Rower Moran Samuel secured the gold medal in women’s single sculls, her first Olympic Gold. After her win, the 42-year-old said that she was motivated to represent Israel on the global stage because of the war at home.
“It’s a privilege to be here in this bubble at the Paralympic Games, and to finish with a gold medal – and to be able to scream the anthem from deep inside me is a moment I’ll never forget in my life,” Samuel told Israeli sports broadcaster Sport5.
A promising basketball player in her youth, she continued to shoot hoops during her military service, eventually joining the Israeli national team.
However, at age 24, Samuel’s life changed when she suffered a spinal cord injury that left her lower body paralyzed. When she recovered, Samuel went on to complete her studies at the University of Haifa and became a physical therapist.
After discovering the lack of an accessible elite-level basketball team, she transitioned to rowing and made it her mission to represent Israel at the Paralympic Games. She earned a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Games and a silver at the 2021 Tokyo Games.
Samuel’s love of basketball has continued as she works with the Paralympic Sports Association to bring back basketball for women in wheelchairs to Israel.
Shahar Milfelder and Saleh Shahin
In their Paralympic debut, para-rowers Shahar Milfelder, 26, and Saleh Shahin won their first career Paralympic medals, a bronze, in the PR2 mixed double sculls.
At age 15, Milfelder was diagnosed with a rare form of bone marrow cancer and had part of her pelvis removed. Shahin, who is Druze Israeli, was injured in a terrorist attack in January 2005 while she was serving in the Israeli army as a security guard at the Karni Crossing with Gaza. Although not confined to a wheelchair, Shahin, 41, has limited movement in his wounded leg.
It took Shahin a while to get back on track but sports proved to be his ultimate escape.
“It took a lot of time for me to get on the right path and get back to normal life. Sport is a great escape for anyone who is injured or deals with disabilities, as it brings out the best possible in us,” Shahin said in a statement to the Jewish Chronicle.
