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26 Facts About Yarden Gerbi

1.

Yarden Gerbi is an Israeli former judoka world champion.

2.

Yarden Gerbi won the Israeli championship five times by the age of 24, and was a silver medalist in the 2009 Maccabiah Games.

3.

Yarden Gerbi was born in Kfar Saba, Israel, to a family of Tunisian Jewish descent from Djerba.

4.

Yarden Gerbi was raised and currently resides in Netanya, Israel.

5.

Yarden Gerbi attended the Open University of Israel, studying Economics and Management.

6.

On 27 September 2022, Yarden Gerbi came out as gay and revealed her then-ongoing relationship with photographer Dana Lavi, daughter of Israeli actor Amos Lavi.

7.

Yarden Gerbi, who began practicing judo at age 6, trains with club Meditav Netanya.

8.

In 2008, Yarden Gerbi won the Israel Championships, the Under-23 Israel Championships, and took third in the 2008 European Junior Championships.

9.

In 2009, Yarden Gerbi won the Israel Championships and the Belo Horizonte World Cup, placed second in the 2009 Maccabiah Games and took third place in the 2009 Qingdao Grand Prix.

10.

Yarden Gerbi came in second in the 2010 Qingdao Grand Prix.

11.

Yarden Gerbi was eliminated in the third round of the 2011 World Championships and did not qualify to represent Israel at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

12.

In 2012, Yarden Gerbi won the Tashkent World Cup and the Israel Championships, took second in the 2012 European Championships in Russia, and took third in the 2012 Dusseldorf Grand Prix.

13.

In 2013, prior to the World Championships, Yarden Gerbi won the 2013 Baku Grand Slam and the 2013 Moscow Grand Slam, took second in the 2013 Samsun Grand Prix, third in the 2013 Dusseldorf Grand Prix and at the 2013 European Championships.

14.

Yarden Gerbi achieved a world ranking of No 1 in May 2013.

15.

Yarden Gerbi defeated No 2-ranked Clarisse Agbegnenou of France, the European champion, in the final by dislocating her shoulder and rendering her unconscious with a chokehold in 43 seconds.

16.

Yarden Gerbi recorded an ippon in each of her five fights on the way to the championship.

17.

Yarden Gerbi became the first Israeli to win a gold medal at the Judo World Championships.

18.

Yarden Gerbi was voted Israeli Sports Personality of the Year in 2013 by the readers of The Jerusalem Post.

19.

In December 2014, Yarden Gerbi was named Israeli Sportswoman of the Year.

20.

In 2015, Yarden Gerbi won a bronze medal at the 2015 European Games.

21.

On 17 October, Yarden Gerbi won a bronze medal in the 2015 Paris Grand Slam after defeating Miho Minei from Japan.

22.

On 9 August 2016, Yarden Gerbi won a bronze medal for her native Israel at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

23.

Yarden Gerbi took part in the torch lighting ceremony at the 2017 Maccabiah Games on 6 July 2017.

24.

In 2020, Yarden Gerbi competed in the third VIP season of Israel's Survivor and finished in third place.

25.

In 2021, Yarden Gerbi began hosting the Ninja Israel show on Channel 12.

26.

In 2024, Yarden Gerbi competed in the 10th season of Israel's Rokdim Im Kokhavim, where she was eliminated 13th, in the second round of the live show stage.