Israeli swimmer awarded bronze; 3rd medal at Paris Paralympics so far

When he was awarded the bronze, Malyar dedicated his medal to IDF soldiers. 

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

An Israeli swimmer clinched the bronze medal in the 100-meter backstroke, the Jewish State’s third medal in the 2024 Paris Paralympics so far.

Mark Malyar, born with cerebral palsy, competed in the S8 disability class and has a twin brother, Ariel, who is also swimming in the Paris Paralympics.

Malyar won three medals in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and has three more swimming events in Paris.

He completed the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 1:07.42, behind Spain’s Inigo Llopis Sanz and Japan’s Kubota Kota.

When he was awarded the bronze, Malyar dedicated his medal to the IDF soldiers.

“I want to thank the soldiers and everyone who protects us, thanks to them we can train and we can get to this point, we’re able to live thanks to them,” he told Israel’s Sport5 broadcaster.

“It felt great to see the flag go up; I feel amazing,” he added after the medal ceremony.

The first medal Israel won at the Paris Paralympics was awarded to Israeli Asaf Yasur, who clinched the gold in taekwondo on Thursday.

Yasur defeated Turkish opponent Ali Can Ozcan by a score of 19-12 in the gold medal match for the 58-kilogram weight class in the K44 disability class.

Yasur had won his quarterfinal and semifinal matches 23-6 and 16-6, respectively.

The 22-year-old, who trains at the Sharabi Martial Arts club in the central city of Ramle, Israel, is a two-time world champion who is making his Paralympics debut.

Israel’s second medal at the Paris Paralympics went to Ami Dadaon, who won gold in the 100-meter freestyle on Friday.

This was Dadaon’s fourth medal in the Paralympics, following two golds and one silver in the 2021 Paralympics Games in Tokyo.

Dadaon set a new Paralympic record of 1:19.33 minutes during the preliminary round.