| Yuval Shalom Freilich יובל פרייליך | |
|---|---|
_2016.jpg) Freilich, 2016 | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1995-01-24)24 January 1995 (age 30)[1] Israel |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Israel |
| Weapon | épée |
| Hand | left-handed[2] |
| National coach | Angelo Mazzoni[2] |
| Club | HapoelKfar Saba[1] |
| Former coach | Ohad Balva and Alexander Ivanov[2][3] |
| FIE ranking | current ranking |
Medal record | |
Yuval Shalom Freilich (Hebrew:יובל פרייליך; born 24 January 1995) is an Israeli left-handedépéefencer, ranked 9th in the world in 2023-24.[2] In both 2014 and 2015 Freilich won the European Men's Épée Junior Championship. He won the individual épéegold medal at the2019 European Fencing Championships, the épée teamsilver medal with Israel at the2022 European Fencing Championships, and the gold medal at the 2024 Epee Grand Prix event in Qatar.
Freilich representedIsrael at the 2024 Paris Olympics inmen's épée, and came in 19th.
Freilich was born in Israel and is anOrthodox Jew, and grew up in a religious observant Jewish family.[4][5][6] The family lived inGush Etzion in the settlement ofNeve Daniel, south ofJerusalem, and in themoshavHavatzelet HaSharon incentral Israel.[7][2][8][6] His parents Gabby (a radiologist) and Rachel Freilich had emigrated to Israel fromSydney, Australia, and he has three brothers and two sisters; he is the second-youngest of the six siblings.[5][2][9][6][10] He grew up loving dancing, and especiallytap dancing.[5] He is the nephew of former Organisation of Rabbis of Australasia president Rabbi Dovid Freilich.[9]
In 2000, when Freilich was a child, his family moved to Australia, where he lived for five years and attendedMoriah College primary school, but then settled to Israel in 2004 and later attendedHartman High School in Jerusalem.[2][6][9] He served as a soldier in theIsrael Defense Forces, and trained at theWingate Institute.[6] He found that, as an athlete, his three years of compulsory military service slowed his progress in fencing because it limited his time considerably, and took a "mental and energetic toll."[11] He later attendedOpen University of Israel inNetanya, Israel, studying Law, andIDC Herzliya (now known as Reichman University), where he double majored in Law and Government and was later inducted into the Reichman University Sports Hall of Fame.[12][13][14][2]
Freilich began fencing at the age of eight.[11][2][8] He became interested in fencing after seeing it in the 2000 OIympics.[15] His coach starting in 2009 was Ohad Balva, he was laterd coached by Alexander Ivanov, and he is now coached byAngelo Mazzoni), and his club isHapoelKfar Saba.[3][5][1][16] In a typical week, he has four or five lessons with a coach, three fitness sessions, and three or four fencing training sessions of up to an hour and a half.[3]
In April 2010, at 15 years of age and younger than many of his opponents, he won abronze medal in the men's épée2010 World Cadet Fencing Championship inBaku,Azerbaijan.[17][18] In 2010 he was named one of the Top 10 U-20 Israeli Athletes, by Israeli news websiteYnet.[2]
In 2011 he won the European Cadet Championship, inKlagenfurt, Austria.[9][7] In 2011-12, he was ranked 2nd in the world among junior epee fencers.[2]
In 2012 at 17 years of age Freilich won the men's épée2012 World Cadet Fencing Championship in Moscow, Russia, and became the #1-ranked épée cadet in the world.[19] Also that year, inCroatia, he led the Israeli team to agold medal in the European Team Championships.[7] In March 2012, he won a bronze medal in the junior championship of Europe, inPoreč, Croatia.[20] In addition, in December 2012 he won a bronze medal in the junior epee Young Lions World Cup inEspoo, Finland, behindSergey Bida and Lorenzo Buzzi, in a competition with 170 fencers.[20]
In January 2014, he won the gold medal at the junior epee Alpe AdriaWorld Cup inUdine, Italy, in a competition with 147 fencers.[21]
In March 2014 Freilich won the European Men's Épée Junior Championship in Jerusalem, Israel, in a competition with 254 fencers.[22]
In April 2014 Freilich came in 6th at the World Men's Épée Junior Championships inPlovdiv,Bulgaria, in a competition with 114 fencers.[22][5]
In November 2014 he won the junior epee Mémorial de Martinengo World Cup inTallinn,Estonia, in a competition with 254 fencers.[23]
In March 2015 Freilich again won the European Men's Épée Junior Championship, this time inMaribor, Slovenia, in a competition with 115 fencers.[22][24] In 2015 he was the #1 ranked junior épée fencer in the world.[25]
In February 2016 he won a Men's Épée bronze medal at thePeter Bakonyi World Cup inVancouver, Canada, in a competition with 192 fencers.[22][26]
In May 2018, he won a silver medal in individual men's epee at the Coppa Citta di Lugano inLugano, Switzerland.[27]
On June 18, 2019, Freilich won Israel's first European fencing title in the men's individual épée tournament at the2019 European Fencing Championships inDüsseldorf, Germany.[16] Israel's first European medal had been won byNoam Mills, who won a women's individual épée bronze medal inLeipzig, Germany, in 2010.[16]
In May 2020, he said that due to the impact of theCOVID-19 pandemic in Israel which prevented him from fencing, he put more effort into physical preparation and mental training.[28] He turned his garden into his own private gym, and trained twice a day, including exercises such as yoga and meditation that he wouldn’t usually do during the regular season.[28]
On June 22, 2022, he won the épée teamsilver medal with Israel at the2022 European Fencing Championships inAntalya, Turkey.[29]
In January 2024, Freilich won the gold medal at the 2024 Epee Grand Prix event inDoha,Qatar, in an event with 276 fencers.[30][31] He did so in the Arab country that does not have diplomatic ties with Israel, while wearing a fencing uniform with an Israeli flag.[32] He was the first Israeli to win a fencing Grand Prix.[3] After he won, theIsraeli national anthem was played during the podium ceremony.[32][33] At the time, he was ranked #8 in the world in men's epee.[32]
Freilich representedIsrael at the 2024 Paris Olympics inMen's épée, and came in 19th after being eliminated by former European championAndrea Santarelli of Italy.[34] He was the first Israeli man to qualify in epee for an Olympics.[35]
| Year | Location | Event | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 |  Düsseldorf,Germany | Individual Men's Épée | 1st[36] |
| 2022 |  Antalya,Turkey | Team Men's Épée | 2nd[37] |
| Date | Location | Event | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-02-12 |  Vancouver,Canada | Individual Men's Épée | 3rd[38] |
| Date | Location | Event | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-01-31 |  Doha,Qatar | Individual Men's Épée | 1st[39] |
