Golan Pollack ( he, גולן פולק; born 10 September 1991 in

Yehud Yehud ( he, יְהוּד) is a city in the Central District of Israel that is part of the joint municipality of Yehud-Monosson. In 2007, the city's population stood at approximately 30,000 people (including Neve Monosson – see below). History ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

) is an Israeli Olympic

judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo") ...

ka. who competed in the half lightweight (under 66 kg) weight category. Pollack won a bronze medal in the 2015 World Judo Championships. He represented

Israel at the 2016 Summer Olympics Israel competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. It was the nation's sixteenth appearance at the Summer Olympics. The Olympic Committee of Israel confirmed a team of 47 athletes, 22 men and 25 wom ...

. He is 1.75 m /5' 9" tall, and weighs 66 kg /146 lbs.

Judo career

Pollack won a gold medal at the

2009 Maccabiah Games The 18th Maccabiah Games ( he, המכביה ה-18 ישראל תשס"ט), were held in July 2009. According to the organizing committee these were the largest games held yet. These Games were the world's fifth-largest sporting event, behind the Ol ...

in the 66 kg division. At the

2011 World Judo Championships The 2011 World Judo Championships were held at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France from 23 to 28 August. Schedule Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table Participating nations 871 competitors fr ...

, Pollack reached the quarterfinals, where he was defeated by

Miklós Ungvári Miklós Ungvári (born 15 October 1980) is a Hungarian former half-lightweight judoka who held the European title in 2002, 2009 and 2011. He competed at the 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympics and won a silver medal in 2012, placing fifth in 20 ...

of Hungary. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Pollak lost in the first round to

David Larose David Larose (born 4 July 1985 in Bondy, France) is a French judoka. He competed for France at the 2012 Summer Olympics France competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, between 27 July and 12 August 2012. French athletes have competed ...

of France. Pollack won the European Open in Sofia in 2014. On December 5, 2014, Pollack won a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, e ...

at the Tokyo Grand Slam. On August 25, 2015, Pollack won a bronze medal in the 2015 World Judo Championships in

Astana Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, tho ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental coun ...

after defeating

Davaadorjiin Tömörkhüleg Davaadorjiin Tömörkhüleg (born 29 September 1990, Ulaanbaatar) is a Mongolian judoka who competes in the men's -66 kg category. He is a two-time winner of the Asian Championship, in 2013 and 2014, along with bronze medals in 2015 and 2 ...

of Mongolia. During that day he also beat

Georgii Zantaraia Georgii Zantaraia ( ka, გიორგი ზანთარაია; uk, Георгій Малхазович Зантарая; born 21 October 1987) is a Georgian-born Ukrainian judoka. Zantaraia is a candidate for the Kyiv City Council of t ...

of Ukraine, ranked number one in the world. He became the sixth Israeli to win a medal at the

World Judo Championships The World Judo Championships are the highest level of international judo competition, along with the Olympic judo competition. The championships are held once every year (except the years when the Olympics take place) by the International Judo ...

, joining

Yael Arad Yael Arad ( he, יעל ארד; born May 1, 1967) is an Israeli judoka. She was the first Israeli to win an Olympic medal. She is widely recognized as one of Israel's most successful athletes and is credited with bringing judo into the athletic ma ...

(1991, bronze; 1993, silver),

Oren Smadja Shay-Oren Smadja ( he, אורן סמדג'ה; born June 20, 1970) is a former Israeli judoka and a judo coach. Smadja won the Olympic bronze medal in judo at the 1992 Summer Olympics, making him the first Israeli man to win an Olympic medal, and t ...

(1995, silver), Arik Zeevi (2001, silver), Alice Schlesinger (2009, bronze), and

Yarden Gerbi Yarden Gerbi (or Jerbi, he, ירדן ג'רבי; born July 8, 1989) is an Israeli former judoka world champion. She won an Olympic bronze medal competing for Israel at the 2016 Summer Olympics, in Women's 63 kg Judo. Gerbi won the gold me ...

(2013, gold; 2014, silver). He won a silver medal at the Düsseldorf Grand Prix in 2016, losing in the final to world champion An Baul of Korea. Pollack represented

in judo, where he was ranked 6th. After receiving a first-round bye, he was eliminated by Zambia's

Mathews Punza Mathews Punza (born 27 April 1988) is a Zambian judoka. He participated in the 2010 World Judo Championships and later championships. Punza began studying judo at the age of six,Wakung'uma, Shapa. Zambia: Looking At Judo in Police Service', Th ...

. His coach, former Olympic medalist Oren Smadja, said: “Golan used a move he shouldn’t have used and doesn’t usually use. The move doesn’t even have a name. It’s a move where you try to surprise your opponent by falling on your back on the mat, but it risks a lock, which is exactly what happened to Golan. Golan lost to himself, and his opponent got a gift." Pollack left the match in tears, and collapsed to his knees, hiding his face. He said: “I’m very disappointed, especially after all the long way I’ve come in the last four years.... I thank everyone for their support, and I’m sorry I’ve disappointed you.”

Medals

Source:

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pollack, Golan 1991 births Living people Israeli male judoka Maccabiah Games medalists in judo Maccabiah Games gold medalists for Israel Competitors at the 2009 Maccabiah Games Olympic judoka of Israel Judoka at the 2012 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2016 Summer Olympics European Games competitors for Israel Judoka at the 2015 European Games 21st-century Israeli people