Oren Smadja

Oren Smadja was born in 1970 in Ofakim

Smadja was born in Ofakim on 20 June 1970 to a family of Tunisian Jewish descent. He grew up in Moshav Nordia in the Sharon. His father, Maurice Smadja, was a judo coach who came from Tunisia.

He won the Israeli judo championship for the first time at age 12 and also played youth football for Beitar Ofakim. He competed in the under 71 kg category. At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics he won bronze, becoming the first Israeli man to win an Olympic medal.

In 1995 he won silver at the World Championships in Japan in the under 78 kg category. He competed at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics with a knee injury and was eliminated in the second round. In 1996 he founded a judo center in Even Yehuda.

In 2010 he became head coach of Israel's men's national judo team, serving until 2025. His athletes included Or Sasson, Olympic bronze medalist in 2016, Sagi Muki, world champion in 2019, and Peter Paltchik, Olympic bronze medalist in 2024. He was the first Israeli to win an Olympic medal both as an athlete and as a coach.

He is married to Liat and they live in Ganot Hadar. In 2024 their son Omer, an IDF reservist, fell in action in the Gaza Strip. In 2025 he lit a torch at the Independence Day ceremony and received an honorary doctorate from Ariel University.