Bat-El Gatterer

Bat-El Gatterer
Personal information
Birth name בת אל גטרר
Nationality Israeli
Born February 4, 1988
Kokhav Ya'akov, West Bank
Residence Kokhav Ya'akov, West Bank
Height 5' 7" (170 cm)
Weight 121 lb (55 kg)
Sport
Country Israel
Sport Taekwondo
Event(s) Featherweight (57 kg)
Club Ahi Yehuda, Jerusalem
Coached by Avi Kadouri & Noa Shmida

Bat-El Gatterer (Hebrew: בת אל גטרר; born February 4, 1988) is an Israeli Olympic taekwondo athlete. She was the women's 2010 European featherweight champion.

Biography

Gatterer was born in and lived in the Israeli settlement of Kokhav Ya'akov, on a hilltop in the West Bank.[1][2][3] Her parents had moved to Kokhav Ya'akov shortly after it was founded in 1984.[3][4] It has 5,000 residents, and is a 15-to-20-minute drive from Jerusalem, where her primary training center is located.[3][4] She describes it as "a great place".[5] She is the eldest of six children, and served in the Israel Defense Forces for two years.[3][4]

She is a religiously observant Jew.[3][6][7] Consequently, she does not travel by car on the Sabbath, and often must walk long distances to her competition venue.[3] To keep kosher at competitions abroad, she often takes a suitcase filled with kosher food with her.[3]

Taekwondo career

Gatterer enrolled in her first fighting class at 9 years of age, and at 12 years of age she began studying taekwondo.[5] She trains with the club Ahi Yehuda, in Jerusalem.[8][9] She also trains at Wingate Institute, near Netanya, Israel.[3] She is coached by Avi Kadouri and Noa Shmida.[9] Shmida believes that her primary attributes are her speed and strength.[3]

In 2007, she won a gold medal in the under-55 kg class at the Austrian Open in Innsbruck, Austria, and bronze medals at the Trelleborg Open in Trelleborg, Sweden, and the Belgian Open in Herentals, Belgium.[10] She was ranked second in Europe in her weight class by the European Taekwondo Union.[11]

In 2008, competing in the under-55 kg class she won gold medals at the Dutch Open in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, the German Open in Hamburg, Germany, and the Croatia Open in Zagreb, Croatia.[10] She also won a bronze medal at the Austrian Open in Innsbruck, Austria, and a bronze medal in the under-57 kg weight class at the Olympic Games qualification competition in Istanbul, Turkey.[3][10] Upon qualifying for the 2008 Summer Olympics, she said that she was a little surprised, and acknowledged that it is a dream of every sportsman.[3]

She competed, at 20 years of age, on behalf of Israel at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.[12][13][14] She was leading 3–2, with 18 seconds to go, before the end of her first round match against former European champion Martina Zubčić of Croatia when she conceded a hit to her head, and lost 4–3.[14][15][16][17] Her coach Noa Shmida later said that Zubčić's kick only grazed Gatterer's head, and asserted that it did not warrant giving Zubčić two points, asserting that from his point of view "it was not a significant blow".[15][18] She came in tied for 11th place.[8]

In 2009, competing in the under-57 kg class she won a gold medal at the British Open in Manchester, England.[10][19]

She won the gold medal in the women's featherweight (−57 kg) division at the 2010 European Taekwondo Championships in St. Petersburg, Russia.[20] Also in 2010, competing in the under-57 kg class she won a gold medal at the Dutch Open in Eindhoven, a silver medal in the Paris Open in Paris, France, and a bronze medal at the Belgian Open in Herentals.[10][19] That year, she was ranked # 3 by the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF).[19]

In 2011, competing in the under-57 kg class she won a gold medal at the Trelleborg Open in Trelleborg, and bronze medals at the German Open in Hamburg and the Croatia Open in Zagreb.[10] In October 2011, she was ranked third in the world in her weight class by the WTF.[21]

References

  1. ↑ "Beijing Taekwondo: Israel's Bat-El Gatterer hits the fast track". The Telegraph. July 31, 2008. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Taekwondo et Cacheroute" (in French). Israel Infos. August 15, 2008. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 "Little Bat-El aims for taekwondo gold". Haaretz. April 2, 2008. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Israeli Taekwondo Champ to Olympics". CBN News. August 4, 2008. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Miskin, Maayana (May 13, 2010). "Israeli Woman First in Taekwondo". Israel National News. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Jews in the Olympics: 63 Athletes, 7 Countries". Jewishinstlouis.org. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Female Taekwondo Champ Fights for Israel". Jewish Times of South Jersey. July 25, 2008. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Bat-El Gatterer Biography and Olympic Results". Sports-reference.com. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "2008 Beijing Summer Olympics | Bat-El Gatterer Profile & Bio, Photos & Videos". NBC Olympics. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 "Gatterer, Bat-El". Taekwondo Data. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  11. ↑ Levi, Hana (August 4, 2008). "Yesha Resident Kicks Her Way to Beijing Olympics". Israel National News. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  12. ↑ "Israel at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games". Sports-reference.com. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
  13. ↑ Tali Minsberg (September 7, 2009). "Gatterer shines but Germany, France victorious at Jerusalem International Open". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Hipsh, Rami (August 19, 2008). "Hoping for winds in Zubari's sail". Haaretz. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Hipsh, Rami (August 22, 2008). "Israel's Olympic hopes take a beating". Haaretz. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  16. ↑ Haaretz Editorial (August 22, 2008). "The sporting life". Haaretz. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  17. ↑ Brown, Cameron S. (August 22, 2008). "Gatterer knocked out in first round". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  18. ↑ Allon Sinai (August 22, 2008). "Israelis in action". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 "Media Information; 2010 SportAccord Combat Games" (PDF). World Taekwondo Federation. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  20. ↑ "Sports Shorts". Haaretz. October 9, 2010. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  21. ↑ "Top Ten del WTF World Ranking, Octubre 2011". masTaekwondo.com. October 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2011.

External links