ISRAEL: JUDO: Israeli judoka Ariel 'Arik' Zeevi plans to make the most of his final fling at the Olympics when he steps onto the mat at the London Games

Record ID: 330813

  • Title: ISRAEL: JUDO: Israeli judoka Ariel 'Arik' Zeevi plans to make the most of his final fling at the Olympics when he steps onto the mat at the London Games
  • Date: 14th June 2012
  • Summary: NETANYA, ISRAEL (RECENT) (REUTERS) ISRAELI JUDOKA ARIEL 'ARIK' ZEEVI TRAINING ZEEVI TRAINING WITH TEAM MATE COACH SHANI HERSHKO SUPERVISING TRAINING TRAINING IN PROGRESS ISRAEL'S JUDO TEAM TRAINING ZEEVI SPEAKING TO REPORTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) ISRAELI JUDOKA ARIEL 'ARIK' ZEEVI SAYING: "I am number seven in the world so there are six that are more favoured than me to win the medal in London. But, you know, before Athens I was really one of the best nominees for a medal, so at that time I was under a lot of pressure. This time for me - and I'm more experienced now - so it will be easier for me, I think, to deal with the pressure." ZEEVI TRAINING (SOUNDBITE) (English) ISRAELI JUDOKA ARIEL 'ARIK' ZEEVI SAYING: "I was really disappointed. I was, you know, with the (my) face down and everybody talked about my failure. But I think this time if I will fail it will be totally different. I am prepared for that, I have my two children so for me they are the most important thing in the world, so everything is put in proportion (perspective)." ISRAEL'S JUDO TEAM TRAINING IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) ISRAELI JUDOKA ARIEL 'ARIK' ZEEVI SAYING: "I will never be 100 percent fit, never. After an operation in the shoulder it's never the same, and even my elbow it's not the same. But now my technique are not built on things with my right hand so I had to find a way to hide my disadvantage." ISRAELI FLAG/ ZEEVI AND COACH HERSHKO TALKING HERSHKO HERSHKO SPEAKING TO ZEEVI (SOUNDBITE) (English) COACH SHANI HERSHKO SAYING: "He is one of the oldest players in the world but also...this is going to be his fifth Olympic games. So he's very experienced. The fact.. in his career he's made a lot of good things, bad things, and with this experience I think he can make every fight much better." ZEEVI RESTING DURING TRAINING (SOUNDBITE) (English) ISRAELI JUDOKA ARIEL 'ARIK' ZEEVI SAYING: "I think after the Europeans the best thing (that) happened to me, except for the gold medal, is that I won again my confidence. I feel better and feel confident for the Olympic Games." ZEEVI TRAINING (SOUNDBITE) (English) ISRAELI JUDOKA ARIEL 'ARIK' ZEEVI SAYING: "I will come to do my best, and I can beat anybody, I know that. I can lose also to many of the opponents, but with good confidence that if I will, you know... connect it the day I can bring a medal from London." ISRAELI FLAG/ ZEEVI RESTING AFTER TRAINING ZEEVI RESTING ON MAT AFTER TRAINING
  • Embargoed: 29th June 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Israel
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: People,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA61RH2AWKCE07XWYD8HD0MA93I
  • Story Text: Israeli judoka Ariel 'Arik' Zeevi plans to make the most of his final fling at the Olympics when he steps onto the mat at the London Games.
    Zeevi was written off after flopping badly at the Beijing Games, but after an unexpected victory at the judo European championships in Russia in April the 35-year-old is once again among Israel's best hopes for an Olympic medal.
    While there has been success for Israeli athletes on the water, sports commentators have dubbed Zeevi Israel's best male Olympian on land.
    With a bronze medal from the 2004 Olympics in Athens to go with his four European titles in the under 100kg category, Zeevi knows that his last chance to add to his medal haul will be at his fourth and final Olympics in London.
    "I am number seven in the world, so there are six that are more favoured than me to win the medal in London," he told Reuters in a recent interview, held after training session in Netanya.
    "But, you know, before Athens I was really one of the best nominees for a medal, so at that time I was under a lot of pressure. This time for me - and I'm more experienced now - so it will be easier for me, I think, to deal with the pressure."
    Alongside windsurfing, Judo is Israel's most successful Olympic sport.
    Yael Arad was the Jewish state's first medalist when she won silver in Barcelona in 1992, and Oren Smadja took bronze that same year.
    The powerfully-built Zeevi is an intimidating presence on the mat, but off it he is a soft-spoken, friendly, intelligent family man.
    It was obvious that his priorities have changed when he introduced himself first as a father and a husband and only then as the athlete who's been practising Judo since the age of seven.
    The disappointment of Beijing led some sections of the media to confine Zeevi to the scrap heap but even if he fails in London, life has given him plenty of perspective.
    "I was really disappointed. I was, you know, with the face down and everybody talked about my failure," Zeevi said of Beijing.
    "But I think this time if I will fail it will be totally different. I am prepared for that, I have my two children so for me they are the most important thing in the world."
    Hampered by a persistent shoulder injury, Zeevi's best years seemed to be behind him after the 2008 failure and only the return to the top of the European podium convinced him he had one more Olympics left in him.
    Zeevi said he feels stronger than in the past despite his injuries.
    "I will never be 100 percent fit, never. After an operation in the shoulder it's never the same, and even my elbow it's not the same.
    "But now my technique are not built on things with my right hand, so I had to find a way to hide my disadvantage."
    His coach Shani Hershko, believes Zeevi's experience more than compensated for his age.
    "He is one of the oldest players in the world but also...this is going to be his fifth Olympic games. So he's very experienced," he said.
    "The fact...in his career he's made a lot of good things, bad things, and with this experience I think he can make every fight much better."
    Zeevi said winning the European title after an eight-year gap had given him new motivation after a long, lean spell.
    "I think after the Europeans the best thing (that) happened to me, except for the gold medal, is that I won again my confidence," he said. "I feel better and feel confident for the Olympic Games."
    Zeevi added that the Olympics would be an open competition but experience would play a major part.
    "I will come to do my best, and I can beat anybody, I know that. I can lose also to many of the opponents, but with good confidence that if I will, you know... connect it the day I can bring a medal from London."
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