The union published this morning (Tuesday) the general ranking of all athletes in the judo branch. With the publication of the ranking, Raz Hershko became the first ranked in the world and thus set an achievement that has not yet been recorded in Israel as the first Israeli athlete to reach the top of the world ranking. This is a ranking that includes all the weights together (different from the ranking of each weight group separately).
Hershko said excitedly: “It’s very flattering to me, even exciting, but as Shani (Raz’s coach) said, for me it’s just a stop on the way. My goal is clear, and I don’t want to take my eyes off the goal. It’s flattering, it’s exciting, it’s a reward for hard work and a process that deserves a lot of credit here for the way he pushes me and constantly challenges me to strive for more, and of course also to the team of Ido Bar and Charles Chibana and Laponti who gives us all the conditions, but together with that, I am far from blinded by it or content with it.’
In the world ranking, there are about 2,000 female athletes with a ranking score from about 200 countries, which makes clear the magnitude of the achievement reached by Hershko. The coach of the Israeli women’s national team and Raz’s uncle, Shani Hershko, also reacted with excitement: “The women’s national team is busy 24/7 with the goal of doing everything necessary to improve, we deliberately look for the most difficult confrontations, without assumptions or excuses, to always challenge ourselves and with the goal to make history in every possible way.”
“Raz is an amazing story of commitment, tenacity and striving for excellence under complex and difficult conditions. Since the 2022 World Championships, Raz has been on the podium with a medal in every competition and in fact also holds the longest medal streak of all the team’s judokas ever and one of the best streaks in judo In the world, this fact also places her for the first time as an Israeli at the top of all the women’s categories. For me, this is a landmark, but it is just another ‘refreshment station’ on the way to an intensive work routine and hopefully to further historic achievements.”
Chairman of the Judo Association Moshe Ponti on the historic achievement: “Raz is not only an amazing athlete, but an amazing person, and is an example to so many girls and boys. The way she does it is an inspiration, and her ranking is not accidental, but the result of hard work by her, Shani Hershko, and the team of the women’s team. I’m proud of her.’
