Tommy Arshansky was already told that he would not be going to London after the Judo
Association’s request to include him in the delegation as one of three
up-and-coming athletes was rejected by the Olympic Committee of
Israel.
However, Arshansky and the association never gave up and
exhausted every option, a decision which paid off just three weeks ahead of the
opening ceremony when the 20-year-old became the 38th and final athlete to be
added to the Israeli delegation.
The OCI’s high court accepted his appeal
(hence his appearance at the end of the Post’s alphabetized list) and he joined
swimmer Imri Ganiel and fellowjudoka Golan Pollack as the third up-and-coming
athlete.
The court explained that the fact the Israel Judo Association
was still in administration until last year denied Arshansky the chance to
compete in several major events abroad and he was unable to amass the ranking
points he required to achieve the OCI’s criteria of being ranked among the
world’s top 20.
Arshansky’s tremendous talent was on full display when he
won the European Cadet (under-17) Championships in 2007, but it took him time to
get accustomed to the under-60kg senior weight class, which required him to put
on 10kg.
He finally made his breakthrough this year, finishing on the
podium in four World Cup events, including in two in June.
After already
having to come to terms with missing out on the Olympics, Arshansky goes to
London with absolutely no pressure.
His true test should come in the 2016
and 2020 Games.