Israeli Olympic medalist Peter Paltchik has one clear dream: that Olympic athletes no longer have to struggle financially.
LH PANEL 2
(ILTV)
Judo star Paltchik immigrated to Israel with his mother as a baby. At just 23 years old, his mother worked tirelessly to make ends meet, eventually traveling to the U.S. to earn a living. During her absence, Paltchik was raised by his grandparents. It was his grandfather who introduced him to judo. However, Paltchik recalls the early days of his career being incredibly challenging due to the financial strain of pursuing sports full-time.
“It does not matter if you come from a rich family or from a poor family,” Paltchik said. “At the end of the day, the individual Olympic athlete is poor because he needs to finance himself, he needs to support himself financially. It's flights to training camps, even to some championships, and it's full time – food, psychologists, everything in the first year is the toughest.”
To address these challenges, Paltchik recently launched a foundation aimed at supporting athletes across multiple Olympic sports. He described the initiative as the “light of my life,” adding that he feels like he is “all of a sudden, able to give back.”
The foundation raises funds to provide sports scholarships, helping young athletes achieve their dreams without the financial burdens he faced.
“I have a dream that Olympic athletes will not struggle any more,” Paltchik said.