Ayelet Zussman

Ayelet Zussman was born in 1979 in Holon

Ayelet Zussman was born on 27 March 1979 in Holon, where she grew up. She studied in the sports track at Kiryat Sharett high school in the city. She started rhythmic gymnastics at 6 and trained with Ilanit Lazar and then Irina Vigdorchik.

At 15 she became the champion of Israel in 1994. A back injury kept her from repeating the title, and she ended her athletic career at 17.

She served in the IDF as a hand-to-hand combat instructor and as a physical training officer. After her service she returned to gymnastics as a coach. She holds a bachelor's degree in business administration and sports management from the Ruppin Academic Center.

She worked as a choreographer at Ironi Holon and Hapoel Rishon LeZion, and for Neta Rivkin and the national group. She was Ira Risenzon's choreographer at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She has coached Linoy Ashram since 2009, and Ashram won gold at the Tokyo Olympics.

In 2022 she became head coach of the national team. The group won all-around gold at the 2023 World Championships and silver at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She coached Daria Atamanov, the 2022 European champion.