Mark Malyar (; born 5 March 2000) is an Israeli Paralympic champion and world champion para swimmer. As of 2024, he had won four world championships and set four world records. At the

2020 Tokyo Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the Inte ...

, he won two gold medals while setting two world records. He competed for Israel at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, and won a bronze medal in the Men's 100 metre backstroke S8.

Early life

Malyar was born with

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may b ...

at Bnei Zion Medical Center in

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

, Israel. His parents are Alex and Diana, and he has an identical twin brother, Ariel Malyar, who is also a Paralympic swimmer and also competed in the Tokyo Paralympics and is competing in the Paris Paralympics. He grew up in

Kiryat Motzkin Kiryat Motzkin () is a city in the Haifa District of Israel, north of the city center of Haifa. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, in it had a population of . However, as of September 2024, the unofficial population count is 55 ...

, Israel.

Swimming career

Malyar began swimming at age 5 with his brother as part of

hydrotherapy Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy and also called water cure, is a branch of alternative medicine (particularly naturopathy), occupational therapy, and Physical therapy, physiotherapy, that involves the use of water for pain relief and ...

treatment. Later, he joined the ILAN Haifa swimming team. "Israeli Swimmer Mark Malyar Wins 2nd Gold Medal, Breaks World Record in Paralympic Games,"
''Jewish Press''. He trains at the ILAN pool in

Kiryat Haim Kiryat Haim ( ) is a neighborhood of Haifa. It is considered part of the Krayot cluster in the northern part of metropolitan Haifa. In 2008, Kiryat Haim had a population of just under 27,000. Kiryat Haim is within the municipal borders of ...

, and is coached by Yaakov Benenson. He was named the 2017 Athlete of the Year by the Israeli Paralympic Committee. At the 2017 World Championships in Mexico, at 17 years of age, he won a bronze medal in the 100-meter backstroke. At the 2018 European Championships in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

he won the silver medal in the 400-meter freestyle, and bronze medals in both the 100-meter breaststroke and the 100-meter backstroke. At the 2019 World Championships in London, he won the gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle (setting a new world record of 4:33.64), and the silver medal in the 200-meter individual medley."Israeli Paralympic swimmer Mark Malyar wins bronze in Paris,"
''Ynet''. Malyar represented Israel at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics at 21 years of age, and won gold medals in the 200 metre individual medley SM7 (in 2:29.01) and the 400 m freestyle S7 (in 4:31.06), setting new world records in both, and the bronze medal in the 100 m backstroke S7. He said: "I’m happy that I succeeded..., I’m very tired. I didn’t feel that I was even going that fast, but it worked and my body is just about done.""Shattering another world record, swimmer Mark Malyar wins his second Tokyo gold,"
''The Times of Israel''.

2024–present; Paris Paralympics

As of August 2024, he held world records in the 400-meter, 800-meter, and 1,500-meter freestyle and 200-meter individual medley, and had won four world championship medals. He competed for Israel at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. Malyar won a bronze medal in the Men's 100 metre backstroke S8. He dedicated his medal to the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

soldiers fighting to protect Israel, and said: "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.""Israeli swimmer clinches bronze at Paris Paralympics, nation’s third medal so far,"
The Times of Israel.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Malyar, Mark 2000 births Living people Israeli male swimmers Israeli male freestyle swimmers Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2024 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the World Para Swimming Championships Paralympic gold medalists for Israel Paralympic bronze medalists for Israel Paralympic medalists in swimming Paralympic swimmers for Israel People from Kiryat Motzkin Sportspeople from Haifa Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2024 Summer Paralympics S7-classified para swimmers 21st-century Israeli sportsmen

Early life

Swimming career

2024–present; Paris Paralympics

See also

References

External links