Israel claimed its first medal of the Paralympic Games in the opening day of
competition on Thursday, with swimmer Inbal Pezaro winning a bronze in the
50-meter freestyle S5 class final.
The 25-year-old Pezaro entered the
Games with five Paralympic medals to her name, winning a bronze and a silver in
Athens 2004 and three silvers in Beijing four years ago.
She qualified
for Thursday’s final from fifth place overall, but scaled the podium with a time
of 37.89 seconds to take her sixth Paralympic medal.
“I’m happy to have
given Israel a lucky start to the Games,” said Pezaro.
Pezaro will
compete in three more events in London and will be confident of claiming
multiple medals once more after taking three medals at the 2010 World
Championships, including a gold in the 100-meter freestyle in the S5 disability
class.
Israel has sent 25 athletes to London, 18 men and seven women, and
will be hoping to at least equal its medal tally from Beijing four years ago
when it amassed six medals in total, five silver and one bronze.