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After two weeks of intense competition, Israel wrapped up its participation in the 2024 Paris Paralympics with an impressive tally of 10 medals.

This marks the country’s greatest Paralympics performance since 2004, when it won 13 medals at the Athens Paralympics. The Paralympic Games, taking place immediately following the Olympic Games, give athletes with disabilities an opportunity to compete at the highest international level.

The honor of bearing Israel’s flag at the closing ceremony was bestowed upon Ami Dadaon, the standout swimmer who emerged as the country’s most decorated athlete at these games, as well as Gal Hamrani, captain of the women’s national team in goalball, a sport designed for athletes with a vision impairment.

Dadaon’s remarkable performance resulted in a personal haul of four medals: two golds, one silver, and one bronze. The goalball team finished in second place during the finals, scoring a silver medal.

Ami Dadaon concluded the games with four hard-earned medals. Photo by Lilach Weiss Rosenberg/IPC

Israel’s medal count spans various disciplines. The final tally includes:

Asaf Yasur’s gold medal in taekwondo.
Guy Sasson’s bronze in wheelchair tennis.
Mark Malyar’s bronze in 100m backstroke.
Moran Samuel’s gold medal in rowing.
A bronze medal in mixed rowing, clinched by the duo of Saleh Shahin and Shahar Milfelder.

Guy Sasson left it all out on the court to bring home a bronze medal. Photo by Keren Isaacson/IPC

The achievements of these athletes are particularly poignant given the challenging circumstances facing their home country.

“Thank God, I succeeded in representing the State of Israel and its people. I don’t have many words to describe it,” said Dadaon, after winning his first gold medal this year. “Now I know that I’ll be singing Hatikva [Israel’s national anthem] during this time, which is all I wanted.”

Reflecting on the delegation’s success, the chairman of the Israel Paralympic Committee, Moshe Matalon, shared his thoughts.

“In our eyes, Ami and Gal, like all their delegation teammates, moved an entire country and brought great honor to Paralympic sports, to sports in general, and to the entire State of Israel,” he said.

“We are returning home with 10 medals and we thank all our partners who helped us reach this moment. Without you, it’s doubtful if this would have happened.”

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