Abigail Klein Leichman
September 18, 2016

Paralympic swimmer Inbal Pezaro of Kibbutz Yizra’el won a bronze medal for Israel on September 15 at the Rio Games, finishing third in the women’s 200-meter individual medley. Norway’s Sarah Louise Rung won the gold, and Spain’s Teresa Parales won silver.

It was the third medal for Team Israel at Rio. Marksman Doron Shaziri took the bronze for his third-place finish in the men’s 50-meter rifle three-position final on September 12, while rower Moran Samuel won a bronze medal in the women’s single sculls competition September 11.

This was Pezaro’s fourth Paralympics and ninth medal overall. The 29-year-old athlete won silver and bronze medals in the 2004 Athens Games; three silver medals in Beijing in 2008, where she set a new Israeli record in the 100-meter freestyle; and three bronze medals in the 2012 London Games.

Inbal Pezaro swimming her way to a bronze at the 2016 Paralympics. Photo by Keren Isaacson
Inbal Pezaro swimming her way to a bronze at the 2016 Paralympics. Photo by Keren Isaacson

Though she reached the finals in five individual events in Rio – relay, 50- and 100-meter freestyle, 100-meter breaststroke and 200-meter medley – she told reporters that she “ended this final with a bittersweet feeling as I feel that I wasn’t able to produce my best and that is tough for me. Nevertheless, I’m happy I managed to achieve something.”

She previously told ISRAEL21c that she had lost some valuable training time due to an illness in July.

Still, Pezaro has an impressive record. She won three World Swimming Championship gold medals (2002, 2006, 2010) and silver medals (2006 and 2010); and one gold, two silver and three bronze medals from European Championships in 2014 and 2016. In the 2015 World Swimming Championship in Scotland, Pezaro won two silver medals and a bronze.

Today is the final day of the Rio Paralympics.

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