Yael Arad (; born May 1, 1967) is an Israeli judoka. She was the first Israeli to win an Olympic medal. She is widely recognized as one of Israel's most successful athletes and is credited with bringing judo into the athletic mainstream. After her retirement, Arad developed a career as a businesswoman and CEO. She specializes in entrepreneurship, business development and marketing strategy. She manages the commercial rights of ViacomCBS in Israel. Arad advises companies in various sectors and lectures on excellence in sports, life and business. Biography Arad, who is Jewish, was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, to Aryeh Arad, a journalist in Davar, Galei Tzahal & Kol Yisrael, and Nurit Arad, a journalist in Yedioth Ahronoth reporting in the field of consumerism. She holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Reichman University. International judo career Arad started taking judo classes at the age of eight and within half a year, ranked second in Israel in her weight class. She later trained with the coach of the men's judo team. She won her first international title in 1984 at the age of 17, competing as a middleweight. She came in 7th in the 1984 World Judo Championships in Vienna. She won bronze medals in the European Championships of 1989 and 1991. To hone her skills, she underwent training in Japan. Arad was the first Israeli athlete to win an Olympic medal when she competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. She won the silver medal in the half middleweight competition. She lost to Catherine Fleury of France. Arad dedicated the medal to the victims of the 1972 Munich Massacre. In May 1993, she won a gold medal in the 1993 European championships. In the world championships that year, she lost in the finals to Gella Vandecaveye of Belgium, taking home a silver medal. She was chosen to light the torch at the 1993 Maccabiah Games. She finished in fifth place at the 1995 World Championships. At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Arad lost to Jung Sung-Sook of Korea, competing for the bronze. She went into the fight sick with a virus and ended up in fifth place. She served as judo coach for Israel in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and coached Israeli judoka Olympian Orit Bar-On. Olympic medal After winning her Olympic medal, Arad wrote: Thursday, July 30, 1992. A fateful day, a watershed day, a day