Inbal Pezaro

Pezaro was born on Kibbutz Yizre'el. At birth she suffered from a complex with blood vessels at her spinal cord, which caused her to become paralyzed in her lower limbs.[1] At the age of five she began practicing sports at the ILAN center in Haifa, progressing to compete in national championships only six years later.

From the age of 12 Pezaro had been competing in international swimming competitions. Following her exemption from military service with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), she volunteered to service and was certified as a swimming instructor.

She took part at the 2004 Summer Paralympics and the 2008 Summer Paralympics. Pezaro won a silver medal on the opening day of the 2008 Beijing Paralympics,[1] after coming in second place in the 100-meter freestyle competition. She set a new Israeli record with 1:12.57 minutes. Pezaro claimed her second medal, finishing second in the 200 meters freestyle S5 competition.[2] Bela Hlavackova of the Czech Republic beat Pezaro in the women's 100 breast SB4, giving Inbal her third silver medal of the Beijing Paralympics. Pezaro emerged as one of the country's biggest stars in the Paralympics in Beijing. She won a bronze medal in the 2016 Rio Paralympics 200 meter freestyle, coming in at 3:38.20 minutes.

In 2002, she was honored to light a torch at the national Independence Day celebrations. In 2007, she was awarded "Sportswoman of the Year" title by the Israeli Association for Disabled Sports.

• Inbal Pezaro at the International Paralympic Committee (also here)