Ehud Vaks
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Native name | אהוד וקס | ||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Udi | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 27 June 1979 | ||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Judoka | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Country | Israel | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | Judo | ||||||||||||||
| Weight class | –60 kg | ||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||
| Olympic Games | R16 (2004) | ||||||||||||||
| World Champ. | R32 (1999, 2003) | ||||||||||||||
| European Champ. | 5th (2003) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||
| Profile at external databases | |||||||||||||||
| IJF | 52800 | ||||||||||||||
| JudoInside.com | 413 | ||||||||||||||
| Updated on 1 February 2022. | |||||||||||||||
Ehud "Udi" Vaks (Hebrew: אהוד "אודי" וקס; born 27 June 1979) is an Israeli judoka.
Vaks won a bronze medal at the 1998 World Judo Juniors Championships in the under 60 kg weight class.[1]
2004 Olympics[edit]
In the 2004 Summer Olympics, competing in the half lightweight 66 kg weight class, Vaks was scheduled to fight Iranian competitor Arash Miresmaeili in the first round. Miresmaeili was disqualified from the competition because he was above the allowable weight limit for his class.[2]
It is widely believed that Miresmaili deliberately set out to be disqualified for political reasons, which is supported by his own comments: “Although I have trained for months and was in good shape I refused to fight my Israeli opponent to sympathise with the suffering of the people of Palestine and I do not feel upset at all."[2][3][4]
Comments from Iranian officials also supported this view. The Iranian state news agency quoted Iranian President Mohammad Khatami as saying that Miresmaeili's actions would be "recorded in the history of Iranian glories," and that the nation considered him to be "the champion of the 2004 Olympic Games."[5]
Iranian Olympic team chairman Nassrollah Sajadi told the Sharq newspaper that the government should give the athlete a $115,000 bonus for his actions, the same amount it gave to gold medalists.[6]
Miresmaeili's disqualification resulted in Vaks being awarded a bye into the 2nd round. He was defeated by Algerian judoka Amar Meridja.[citation needed]
See also[edit]
- Judo at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- List of select Jewish judokas
- List of Israelis
- Arash Miresmaeili#Athens Olympic Games; controversy
References[edit]
- ^ "1998 World Junior Championship U20 Cali". JudoInside.com. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
- ^ a b Kaufman, Michelle (16 August 2004). "Politics, Not Sport, Come First for Iranian Athlete". The Washington Post. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
- ^ Black Belt. December 2004. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
- ^ "Iran refuses judo bout against Israel". Sydney Morning Herald. 17 August 2004. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
- ^ David Matas (2005). Aftershock: anti-zionism and anti-semitism. Dundurn Press Ltd. ISBN 1-55002-553-8. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
- ^ Whitlock, Craig (17 August 2004). "Judoka Praised by Iranian Government". The Washington Post. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
External links[edit]
- Ehud Vaks at the International Judo Federation
- Ehud Vaks at JudoInside.com
- Ehud Vaks at AllJudo.net (in French)
- Ehud Vaks at Olympics.com
- Ehud Vaks at Olympedia
- Ehud Vaks at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
- Ehud Vaks at The-Sports.org
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