Israel's judo team earned gold and bronze medals at the 2021 European Junior Judo Championships in Luxembourg Thursday.
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Kerem Primo was crowned the European champion in the women's under-57 kg category, while Matan Kokolayev took bronze in the men's under-60 kg division.
Israel Judo Association Chairman Moshe Ponti praised the team of "incredible coaches and athletes who, competition after competition, prove their depth, professionalism, and seriousness, bringing results from a young age, through adolescence to adulthood. I'm proud of them."
Israel's national women's judo coach Shani Hershko lauded the "quality and significant achievement of Kerem Primo and the women's judo team.
"Kerem is just 16 years old, and at such a young age, this is history. She's won an amazing and rare achievement – gold in the under-18 European Championships and gold in the under-21 European Championships. It's no secret our goals are to win the adult competitions, but competitions for younger ages are an important and usually effective way to get there," she explained.
Hershko called Primo "a rare athlete who still has her future ahead of her. On her path, there is still room for improvement, and I am confident Kerem will be committed to the task."
She noted "2021 has been an amazing year for the women's team so far. This year, we won medals at the Olympic Games, world championships, and European championships for all ages. No one is prouder than I am of these athletes, the team, and the Judo association."
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