Noam Gershony

Noam Gershony (Hebrew: נועם גרשוני, born 30 January 1983) is an Israeli wheelchair tennis player. At the 2012 Summer Paralympics he won a gold medal in Quad singles and shared a bronze in Quad doubles with Shraga Weinberg.[3]

Noam Gershony
Gershony, 2011 US Open
Country (sports) Israel
Born (1983-01-30) 30 January 1983
Kfar Saba, Israel
PlaysRight Handed
Singles
Career record114–23 (83.2%)
Career titles12
Highest rankingNo. 1 (10 September 2012)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenRR (2012)
French OpenW (2011)
US OpenRR (2011)
Other tournaments
MastersW (2011)
Paralympic Games Gold Medal (2012)
Doubles
Career record52–25 (67.5%)
Career titles5
Highest rankingNo. 5 (30 January 2012)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenF (2012)
French OpenF (2012)
US OpenF (2011)
Other doubles tournaments
Paralympic Games Bronze Medal (2012)
World Team CupW (2012)
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Paralympic Games 1 0 1
Wheelchair tennis
Representing  Israel
Summer Paralympics
Gold medal – first place 2012 London Quad singles[1]
Bronze medal – third place 2012 London Quad doubles[2]

Biography

Gershony served in the Israeli Defense Force as a pilot in the attack helicopter Boeing AH-64 Apache. During the 2006 Lebanon War his helicopter collided with another helicopter, an event which killed his co-pilot and left Gershony injured.[4] He had many bone fractures and injuries in his four limbs. He went through medical rehabilitation and joined Beit Halochem sport centre in Tel Aviv where he started playing wheelchair tennis and surfing.[5] Besides his sports career, Gershony volunteers at "Makom Acher", a hostel for at-risk youth in Tel Aviv, and teaches mathematics to teenagers.

Tennis career

Gerhsony joined Beit Halochem Sport Center for Disabled Veterans in 2007 and began training, led by Coach Nimrod Bichler.

In December 2010, Gerhsony won first place in Quad Singles at an international tournament for wheelchair tennis in the Czech Republic. At the same tournament he also shared first place in the Quad Doubles with a French competitor. After this event he was ranked 29th in the world.

In September 2011 he qualified for the US Open finals. In November 2011 he won first place in the Tennis Masters Series in Belgium, in which the four best players in the world were participating. It was the first time an Israeli player qualified for the Quad Singles finals in that tournament.

In January 2012 he won first place in Australian Open events for wheelchair tennis in Sydney, after beating David Wagner, who was ranked second in the world.

In April 2012 he beat the gold medalist from the 2008 Summer Paralympics, Peter Norfolk, and won the Pensacola Open event.

In May 2012 he reached the Doubles Quad semi-finals in the Japan Open Tennis Championships.

On 1 July 2012 he won first place in Quad Singles in the French Open tournament, and shared second place in Quad Doubles with Boaz Kramer.

Later that year he participated in the 2012 Summer Paralympics. He won a gold medal in Quad Singles and shared a bronze medal with Shraga Weinberg. He was then selected to be his nation's flag-bearer at the 2012 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony.[6]

References
  1. "Results Archive - London 2012 - Wheelchair Tennis - Quad Singles". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  2. "Results Archive - London 2012 - Wheelchair Tennis - Quad Doubles". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  3. "Noam Gershony". London2012.com. London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 30 April 2013.
  4. "Paralympics: Israeli pilot overcomes crash to win tennis gold". Christian Science Monitor. 9 September 2012.
  5. "Athlete bio: Noam Gershony". ipc.infostradasports.com.
  6. "London 2012: Israeli Tennis Player Noam Gershony Wins Gold in 2012 Paralympics". Haaretz. 8 September 2012.
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