I liked to pick up boys and throw them on their back

Israel’s first Olympic medalist, judoka Yael Arad, was born one month before the Six-Day War and started learning judo at age 8.
Yael Arad. Still from film

21see continues its 70th Israel anniversary video series with Yael Arad — Israel’s first Olympic medalist — born in Tel Aviv in 1967. Arad says she was both a tomboy and a bookworm as a child, and embraced martial arts as a “smart” sport. Click on the video to watch her describe the big moment at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.

Executive Producer – Jonathan Baruch
Producer / Director – Haim Silberstein
DP – Eyal Sela
Editing – Shahar Beeri
Color Grading – Ari Amit
Sound – Oren Sharon