Alice Schlesinger

Alice Schlesinger (אליס שלזינגר; born 26 May 1988) is an Israeli-British retired judoka and sambo competitor. Born in Israel, she competed for that country until 2014, but following a dispute with the national federation, in 2015 she started competing for Great Britain, of whom she is a citizen through her English-born mother.

She is a World Judo Championships bronze medalist (2009), bronze medalist of European Judo Championships (2008, 2009, 2012),   world champion in Sambo (2013, 2014 & 2021), as well as world champion in Kurash (2013).

Early life
Schlesinger was born and raised in Herzliya, Israel. Her father is an Israeli Jew, whereas her mother is English-born and a convert to Judaism. Her brother introduced her to the sport as a child and her parents took her to competitions on weekends. She is trained by her Israeli boyfriend/coach, Pavel Musin.

For Israel
Schlesinger has won two Israel national championships (including in 2004, at 57 kg). She also won Continental gold medals in the U17, U20, and U23 competitions.

In July 2004, Schlesinger won the 2004 European Cadet Judo Championships, at 57 kg, in Rotterdam, Netherlands. In October 2004, she won a bronze medal at the 2004 World Judo Juniors Championships, at 57 kg, in Budapest, Hungary.

In July 2005, at the age of 17, Schlesinger competed in the 2005 Maccabiah Games, winning the gold medal by defeating the world champion and former Israeli Daniela Krukower. In October 2005, she won a bronze medal at the 2005 European Junior Judo Championships, at 63 kg, in Zagreb, Croatia.

In September 2006, Schlesinger won a silver medal at the 2006 European Junior Judo Championships, at 63 kg, in Tallinn, Estonia. Despite the medal, she said: "I had a mediocre tournament. I made mistakes in the final. I plan to go over those mistakes with my coach and correct what needs to be corrected".

In October 2007, Schlesinger won the 2007 European Junior Judo Championships, at 63 kg, in Prague, Czech Republic.

Schlesinger competed at the age of 20 on behalf of Israel at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, as a half-middleweight at 63 kg, and placed 13th, losing to French silver medalist Lucie Décosse.

In April 2008 and April 2009, Schlesinger won bronze medals at the 2008 European Judo Championships and 2009 European Judo Championships, at 63 kg, in Lisbon, Portugal, and Tbilisi, Georgia.

In August 2009, Schlesinger won a bronze medal in the 2009 World Judo Championships, at 63 kg, in Rotterdam. In November 2009 she won the 2009 European U23 Judo Championships, at 63 kg, in Antalya, Turkey. The Olympic Committee of Israel selected her as its 2009 co-Athlete of the Year.

In August 2011, Schlesinger was ranked 6th in the world in her weight class. In September 2011, she won a silver medal at the 2011 Düsseldorf Grand Prix in Germany, at 63 kg. She lost only one match, in the finals by judges' decision to Yoshie Ueno of Japan, the world champion for the prior two years, after beating four opponents, including European champion Elisabeth Willeboordse of the Netherlands.

In July 2012 Schlesinger reached the quarter finals of the 2012 Summer Olympics but lost to Urska Zolnir of Slovenia.

Following the London Olympics, Schlesinger and the Israel Judo Association (IJA) became embroiled in a much publicized conflict. Schlesinger says that the IJA ordered her to put on weight so she could move up a weight class, to make room for Yarden Gerbi in the 63 kg class. Her personal trainer's salary was also cut by the IJA. The IJA denies she was asked to change weight classes, and says it moved to a different, team-oriented coaching program which required Schlesinger to change coaches. As a result of the conflict, Schlesinger decided to stop competing for the Israeli national team, and to compete instead for Great Britain.

For Great Britain
In December 2014 the International Judo Federation confirmed that former Israeli Olympian Alice Schlesinger will now compete for Great Britain.

Since then, Schlesinger's accomplishments include a silver medal at the European Judo Open in Sofia, Bulgaria, a gold medal at the 2015 Düsseldorf Grand Prix and a silver medal at the European Women's Judo Open in Prague.

At the 2016 Olympics, Schlesinger beat Bak Ji-yun in the first round before losing to Anicka van Emden in the second round.

At the April 2017 European Judo Championships in Warsaw, Poland, Schlesinger won a bronze medal in the 63 kg.

In May 2019, Schlesinger was selected to compete at the 2019 European Games in Minsk, Belarus, where she won silver.

Medals
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