Israeli swimmer Ami Dadaon finished first in the 100m freestyle event in the S4 disability class in the 2024 Paralympic Games on Friday, with a time of 1:20.25 minutes. The achievement comes just a day after Paralympic taekwondo athlete Asaf Yasur won his own gold medal.
The 23-year-old Israeli secured his fourth Paralympic medal in the Olympic Games, having previously won two golds and one silver three years ago in Tokyo. During the morning's preliminary round, he demonstrated his capabilities by setting a new Games record (1:19.33 minutes).
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Ami Dadon at the finals
(Photo: Lilach Weiss-Rosenberg, International Paralympic Committee)
"This wasn’t an easy race for me," Dadaon said after his victory, as he looks ahead to winning three more gold medals later in the Games (50m freestyle, 200m freestyle, and 150m individual medley).
"Thank God, I succeeded in representing the State of Israel and its people. I don't have many words to describe it. Nothing goes through my mind during the race. Now I know that I’ll be singing Hatikva (Israel’s national anthem) during this time, which is all I wanted,” he added.
“Giving hope to people is the added meaning of what we’re doing here. I have three more races to go. I hope every child and adult who sees this and is struggling knows that there's a light at the end of the tunnel."
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Dadaon after his victory
(Photo: Lilach Weiss-Rosenberg, International Paralympic Committee)
Dadaon, who trains at Haifa under Yaakov Benenson, was born prematurely with cerebral palsy and disabilities in all four of his limbs. He started engaging in sports at the age of six, initially as a rehabilitative activity rather than a competitive sport.
Benenson told young Dadaon that he didn’t see him as a professional swimmer. Dadaon, however, didn’t give up, and the coach’s opinion changed as soon as he started working harder in training, after which he joined the national team.
Dadaon is now considered one of the best swimmers in the world in his disability class. Two years ago, at the World Championships, he won three gold medals. A year later, he added four more medals — all gold, putting him at the highest spot on the podium.