Delila Hatuel

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Delila Hatuel
Personal information
Birth name דלילה חטואל
Nationality Israeli
Born (1980-11-15) November 15, 1980
Acre, Israel
Sport
Country Israel
Sport Fencing
Event(s) Foil
Achievements and titles
Highest world ranking 9 (April 2008)[1]

Delila Hatuel (born November 15, 1980) is an Israeli Olympic foil fencer.[2] She represented Israel at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and has been ranked as high as ninth in the world.

Biography

Hatuel is Jewish, and was born in Acre, Israel.[2][3] Her brother Maor Hatuel is also a fencer, as is her aunt, Lydia Hatuel-Zuckerman, who has won 16 Israeli championships and competed on behalf of Israel at the 1984 Olympics, the 1992 Olympics, and the 1996 Olympics.[4][5] Her father Haim's younger brother, Yitzhak Hatuel, also fenced in the 1984 Olympics for Israel.[5] Delila, her father, and Lydia train Jewish and Arab children in fencing at Acre's Olympic Fencing Center.[5]

Fencing career

Hatuel finished ninth in the team foil 1997 World Fencing Championships in Cape Town, South Africa, and eighth in the team foil 1998 European Fencing Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.[6]

In July 2007, Hatuel finished sixth in individual foil at the European Fencing Championships, in Ghent, Belgium.[6][7] Throughout 2008, she finished in the top 10 in the Fencing World Cup circuit, and was ranked in the top 16 in the world.[7]

In April 2008, she was ranked 9th in the world in women's foil.[1] In July 2008, at the 2008 European Fencing Championships in Kiev, Ukraine, she defeated Olympic foil champion Valentina Vezzali, but injured her knee at the end of the bout. She finished seventh in individual foil in the tournament.[6]

Due to her torn knee ligaments that included a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), surgery, and resulting swelling, she almost missed out on participating in the Olympics the following month.[4][8] However, after she underwent treatment in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber at Assaf Harofeh Medical Center in Tzrifin, Israel, she was allowed to compete.[8] Exposure to oxygen under high pressure speeds up the body's natural healing process.[8]

Hatuel, ranked 11th in the world, represented Israel at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, in foil fencing.[2][5] She came in 19th in the foil competition, losing 10–9 to reigning world title holder Viktoriya Nikishina of Russia, who was part of the gold-medal winning Russian team.[2][9][10] In the match, she requested medical assistance at the outset after executing a sharp move.[11] Hatuel tied the score with seconds to go, but the Russian prevailed in overtime.[11]

Hatuel later said: "I'm sad, but this loss has nothing to do with my injury. I lost in a tight match."[12] A reporter for Haaretz, however, noted that despite her denial, "it seems that Hatuel's knee injury was agonizing".[11] Hatuel said she would rest, and have another knee surgery, noting: "I want to be in the 2012 Olympics Games in London."[11]

See also

  • List of select Jewish fencers

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Fencing Ranking: Delila HATUEL". Nahouw.net. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Delila Hatuel Biography and Olympic Results". Sports-reference.com. August 11, 2008. Retrieved November 10, 2011. 
  3. ↑ "Jews in the Olympics: 63 Athletes, 7 Countries". Jewishinstlouis.org. Retrieved November 10, 2011. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Talshir, Uri (September 21, 2011). "Fencing / Living by the sword". Haaretz. Retrieved November 10, 2011. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Teddy Fassberg (June 13, 2008). "Double-edged foil". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved November 10, 2011. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Hatuel Delila – Biography". European Fencing Confederation. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Sinai, Allon (July 16, 2008). "Guide to Israel's Olympic Team: Delila Hatuel". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved November 10, 2011. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Judy Siegal-Itzkovich. "Health Scan; Defeating the Disease". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved November 10, 2011. 
  9. ↑ "Beijing: Fencer Delilah Hatuel ousted from Olympic race". Ynetnews. November 8, 2008. Retrieved November 10, 2011. 
  10. ↑ "Israel at the Olympics; Israeli team secures victories in swimming, sailing, tennis; Peer-Obziler match cancelled due to rain". Ynet. November 8, 2008. Retrieved November 10, 2011. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Hipsh, Rami (August 21, 2010). "Peer pulls through to next stage". Haaretz. Retrieved November 10, 2011. 
  12. ↑ Miki Sagui and Sa'ar Haas (November 8, 2008). "Beijing: Swimmer Alon Mandel sets new national record". Ynetnews. Retrieved November 10, 2011. 

External links

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