Ami Omer Dadaon

Started: He took up the sport at age six at the Israeli Association for Children with Disabilities [ILAN] in Israel. (ynetnews.com, 18 Aug 2023; frogi.co.il, 22 Oct 2017) Reason: He took up swimming as part of his rehabilitation therapy. "Then I continued swimming as a hobby. I started to compete and I loved it, so I continued until I reached the youth [national] team." (frogi.co.il, 22 Oct 2017) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (Instagram profile, 27 Feb 2024) Milestones: At age 20 he was the youngest Israeli athlete to win a medal at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, where he finished on the podium in three events. (SportsDeskOnline, 21 Jul 2024) Awards: He was named Male Swimmer of the Year for 2022 by the Israel Paralympic Committee. He shared the award with Mark Malyar in 2021. (Instagram profile, 13 Feb 2023; Israel Paralympic Committee Facebook page, 19 Jan 2022) In December 2017 he received the Israeli Sports Award for Young Para Athlete of the Year. (sport1.maariv.co.il, 26 Dec 2017) Additional Info: BREAK FROM SPORT In 2023 he announced that he would be taking time away from the sport before the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. "My peace of mind was affected this year. My searches for many things contributed to this. I am optimistic and believe that I will find my peace of mind again and what I am looking for. I am going to take time off from swimming. This year [2023] I realised that I don't know what I love and what I want to do. Swimming drained a lot of energy from me. I will return when my body and soul are ready for it. I don't want to limit myself with time. It will happen when I can give 100% physically and 100% mentally. Without that, I won't be able to achieve what I want in Paris." (ynetnews.com, 18 Aug 2023)