Gefen Primo won the gold medal at the Lausanne Grand Slam
The 26-year-old judoka took the top spot on the podium after defeating French judoka Blandine Pont in the gold medal match. Timna Nelson-Levy and Inbar Shemesh were eliminated in the early stages.
A great achievement for Gefen Primo on the first day of the Lausanne Grand Slam in Switzerland. The 26-year-old judoka, competing in the under 52 kg weight category, won the gold medal. Primo began the day of competition with a 'yuko' advantage victory over Poland's Aleksandra Kaleta, continued with an 'ippon' victory in the round of 16 over Germany's Chiara Sarr, and in the quarterfinals defeated Russia's Leila Ngauyeva by 'ippon'. In the semifinals, a 'yuko' advantage was enough for Primo to overcome European Championship bronze medalist Ariane Toro Soler of Spain and reach the final, where she met French judoka Blandine Pont, the European vice-champion and gold medalist of the 2026 Kazakhstan Grand Slam. Primo won in golden score after the Frenchwoman received a third penalty.
Shani Hershko, the national team's head coach:
"Gefen finishes an excellent day of competition with impressive victories over quality opponents, high ability throughout the day, and winning a gold medal in a prestigious and important competition as part of the Olympic criteria for Los Angeles 2028. This is a very significant achievement for Gefen and the team, and a bonus we always especially love: 'Hatikvah' on Swiss soil."
Earlier in the competition: Ilay Hayun, who competed in the under 52 kg weight category, was defeated in the first round by 'ippon' by Italy's Ilaria Finstorn. In the under 57 kg weight category, Timna Nelson-Levy and Inbar Shemesh competed and lost in the early rounds: Timna Nelson-Levy was defeated by 'ippon' in the first round by Russia's Irina Zueva. Inbar Shemesh defeated Midin Orazniyazova from Turkmenistan by 'ippon', but lost afterwards to Russia's Natalia Elkina. Yonatan Veksler, who competed in the under 60 kg weight category, won by penalties in the first round against Armenia's Vay Aghasyan, continued with an 'ippon' victory over James Zahra from Malta, but lost afterwards to Brazil's Michael Augusto, who finished with the bronze medal. Matan Koklaev, who competed in the under 66 kg weight category, opened with an impressive victory over the Olympic vice-champion and silver medalist from the Tokyo Olympic Games, Georgia's Vazha Margvelashvili, but lost by 'ippon' to Choi In-hyeok from Korea.
