Yitzhak Yonassi

Yitzhak Yonassi was born in 1962 in Ashkelon

Yonassi was born on October 18, 1962, in Ashkelon and grew up there. In 1976 he joined the Hapoel Ashkelon shooting club, and a year later he won the Israeli championship for the first time.

From 1977 through 1991 he won at least one of three categories at the Israeli championships each year. At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics he placed 8th in the 10 metre air rifle and set a new Israeli record. At the 1988 Seoul Olympics he carried Israel's flag at the opening ceremony.

He served as a career officer in the IDF until he retired in 2006. During his service he replaced the army's zeroing target with a more accurate one. He also earned degrees in behavioral sciences, business administration and law.

He retired from competition in 1995 and joined the board of the Israel Shooting Federation. He became its chairman in 2009 and the shooting representative on the Israel Olympic Committee in 2017, holding both roles until 2020. He later opened a law office and teaches law courses at Ashkelon Academic College.