Amit Finkel and Maya Bielik caught up with Ofir Netzer, the 2013 European Vault finalist and Israel’s big hope for Rio 2016, right before her anticipated return following an ACL tear.
One of the days 18-year old Ofir Netzer will never forget was the Vault final of the 2013 European Championships in Moscow. She came in 4th behind two gymnasts who are household names in the sport – Giulia Steingruber and Larisa Iordache (who shared the silver with Dutch gymnast Noel van Klaveren). Overnight, she was the talk of the town, coming out of nowhere and ranking 4th in Europe, missing a bronze by 3 tenths at such a prestigious meet.
Another day she will never forget came about a year later …
“I was working a whip to triple twist and landed with straight knees and tore my ACL,” she recounts. The recovery was long and difficult. “I continued training to maintain my fitness level. I came to the gym daily during my rehabilitation, doing mainly fitness and physiotherapy. I returned to gymnastics training six months ago,” she adds.
Her training regimen tends to be a bit erratic, with weekly trips to a superior facility in Tel Aviv, training camps overseas and her military duties.
“I usually train twice a day, three hours in the morning and three hours in the evening,” she says. …
Israeli Gymnastics – Ofir Netzer Interview: Her Rise, Her Fall and Her Return
Wish her well in her return to competition in 2015.
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