Israel’s Golden Paralympic Hero

December 5, 2012

“Wow, this feeling is almost unbearable. I don’t know how to describe it. I haven’t realized yet that I have just won gold. It’s crazy,” said Gershony. “There was so much pressure to bring home the gold because I knew I could do it. I barely slept last night. I’m just happy to have made it.” It was Gershony’s second Paralympic medal. He and doubles partner Shraga Weinberg won the bronze in the quad doubles event.

Israel’s leaders and top athletes, as well as the country’s residents, saluted Gershony’s win. “I was very excited about your victory. The State of Israel embraces you for your great achievement. You symbolize the victory of the human spirit over the difficulties created by the reality in which we live. This is gold for you and the country,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Gershony in a phone call to London. His achievement earned him the privilege of carrying the Israel flag in the closing ceremony in London.

www.paralympic.org Six years ago, Gershony topped the national news when he was critically injured during the [2006] Second Lebanon War. En route to the combat zone, Gershony was involved in an Apache helicopter crash that cost the life of his co-pilot. With open wounds, loss of blood, and multiple fractures, Gershony’s prognosis was not optimistic. Yet he proved that after years of therapy, operations, and rehabilitation, it was not only possible to reach the Paralympics but to win a gold medal as well.

To his friends, family, commanders, and fellow rehabilitation patients, Gershony has always been a hero. Gershony himself said: “It was a miracle that I was saved. From the moment that I got my life back as a gift, I promised myself that I wouldn’t waste it.” His mother, Pnina, told reporters that just seeing her son on the court was a victory. “We said that no matter what happened on the court, he had already won,” she said.

www.paralympic.org “I salute you on behalf of the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] on your exceptional determination and achievements,” Chief of Staff Benny Gantz told the tennis star. “You proved that you are as good on court as you are in the sky, talented in the Apache and tennis,” said President Shimon Peres. “We are very proud of you.”

As the Paralympics officials readied the court for the medal ceremony, chants of “Noam, Noam!” grew louder and louder. Gershony wheeled himself to the top of the podium. “I’m on top of the world,” he said. When the national anthem began playing, Gershony couldn’t halt his tears. “I can’t put into words how it felt to hear ‘Hatikva’ and see the flag at the top of the pole,” Gershony—who wrapped himself in an Israeli flag—told reporters. “I never thought I would have the chance to represent the country and certainly never believed that I would be able to bring it such honor.”

Source: Excerpts from an article by Viva Sarah Press, www.israel21c.org