Israeli Judoka Inbar Lanir Dedicates Bronze Medal Win in Uzbekistan to Murdered Hamas Hostage Itzik Elgarat

Israeli judoka Inbar Lanir dedicated her bronze medal win at an international judo competition in Uzbekistan on Sunday to the family of Itzik Elgarat, who was murdered in Hamas captivity and whose body was returned to Israel late last month.

“I fought today to fly the flag in his memory,” Lanir, 24, said after winning bronze in the 2025 Tashkent Grand Slam in the -78 kg category against Karol Gimenes from Brazil. Last year, Lanir won a silver medal at the Paris Olympics.

A dual Danish-Israeli citizen, Elgarat was 68 when he was abducted by Hamas terrorists from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7, 2023. The terrorists shot him through the door of his safe room, injuring him, and then took him as a hostage back to the Gaza Strip. Hamas took a total of 251 hostages that day and killed 1,200 people during its deadly rampage across southern Israel.

Hamas returned Elgarat’s body, and bodies of three other hostages, back to Israel on Feb. 27, in exchange for 602 Palestinian prisoners as part of a Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal between Israel and Hamas. Forensic reports revealed that Elgarat was murdered in captivity, and he was buried in Israel on Monday. Elgarat is survived by two children, who live in Denmark, a brother, and two sisters. His sister, Rachel Dancyg, also lived in Nir Oz and survived the Oct. 7 massacre.

Also at the 2025 Tashkent Grand Slam, Olympic-winning Israeli judoka Raz Hershko (+78 kg) finished in fifth place. Israel’s women’s judoka team finished the competition with three medals in total: a silver for Inbal Shemesh, and bronze for Timna Nelson Levy and Lanir.

The post Israeli Judoka Inbar Lanir Dedicates Bronze Medal Win in Uzbekistan to Murdered Hamas Hostage Itzik Elgarat first appeared on Algemeiner.com.