Keren Leibovitch

Keren Leibovitch was born in 1973 in Hod HaSharon

Keren Leibovitch was born in Hod HaSharon in 1973 and grew up there. She first swam as a small child. She studied philosophy at Tel Aviv University.

In 1992 she was injured in an accident during her IDF service, while training to be an officer. She was left paralyzed from the waist down, even after 2 major operations. She took up swimming as part of her rehabilitation.

She won 3 gold medals at the 1999 European Championships in Germany. At the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney she won 3 gold medals and broke 3 world records. At the 2004 Games in Athens she won gold in the 100-meter backstroke, 2 silver medals and a bronze medal.

She set world records in the 50-meter backstroke in 2003 and the 200-meter backstroke in 2004. She worked to raise public awareness of disabled sports and lit a torch at the 2004 Independence Day ceremony. At the 2008 Games in Beijing she finished fourth in the 100-meter backstroke.

In 2022 she received an honorary doctorate from the Weizmann Institute of Science. She is a single mother of 2 sets of twins and lives in Kfar Saba.