Ilana Kratysh, First Ever Israeli Female Wrestler To Compete At Olympics

Your ability to soar to great heights and smash world records often depends upon the country where you come from.

In a world where having an equal starting platform and self-made success is valued and important, that is unfortunate.

All foundations and structures are not the same.

This is what makes the accomplishments of the Israeli female wrestler Ilana Kratysh so spectacular.

**fciwomenswrestling.com article, photo via Jerusalem Post**

There is no Israeli team, and there are few coaches.

The informative site israel21c.org educates, “With only seven Olympic medals to its credit since 1952, Israel is not on anyone’s top 10 list of countries likely to have its national anthem played on the winners’ podium at Rio this August.

After all, the 68-year-old Jewish state has a population of just 8.5 million and doesn’t have a huge budget for athletics. Yet the number of qualifiers to represent Israel in the 2016 Rio Games is a record 47, and among them are a few whose names are often mentioned as having real medalist potential.”

As one of the 47 qualifiers Ilana has set herself apart.

As reported at jns.org, “At 5 feet 7 inches tall, and weighing around 150 pounds, 26-year-old optimistic and powerful blonde Ilana Kratysh will become the first-ever Israeli woman to compete in the wrestling events at the Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, which began Aug. 5. On Aug. 17 she will fight for the gold in the under 69-kilogram category.”

Very spectacular.

It’s time to look at her resume and her road to greatness and uniqueness, despite her launching pad.

She placed third at a 2012 Grand Prix Wrestling tournament in Belarus.

She then won the silver medal at the European Wrestling Championships in 2013 at 67 kilograms.

She also won gold medals in the Grand Prix Faltz Open in Austria, Ukraine Grand Prix tournament, and a Grand Prix event in Sassari, Italy. She won the silver medal at the European Wrestling Championships in 2014 at 69 kilograms (152 lb). She also won a silver medal at 69 kg at the Grand Prix of Paris in February 2014. In March 2014, she was ranked third in the world in the 67 kg freestyle rankings.

We think you can see why she is so impressive.

At the age of 24, Ms. Kratysh won a silver medal representing Israel at the 2015 European Games in the women’s 69-kilogram freestyle wrestling competition in Baku, Azerbaijan.

She is lives in Haifa, Israel, has served in the Israel Defense Forces, and has completed an instructor’s course at the Wingate Institute in Netanya.

Kratysh volunteers her time to Unified Haifa, a non-profit organization that gives sports training and athletic summer camp opportunities to low-income children.

Ilana was born to Russian immigrants to Israel just one hour after they arrived in Israel in 1990 (her mother was eight months pregnant and nearly gave birth on the plane), began her athletic career at the age of five. Her father, Alexander Kratysh, trained the national judo team of Saint Petersburg for five years, and her brother is a judoka.

Let’s visit the village that helped form her.

Haifa is the third-largest city in the State of Israel, with a population of 278,903 in 2015.

**fciwomenswrestling.com article, photo by Zvi Roger Wikipedia**

Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including Daliyat al-Karmel, the Krayot, Nesher, Tirat Carmel, and some kibbutzim. Together these areas form a contiguous urban area, home to nearly 600,000 residents, which makes up the inner core of the Haifa metropolitan area, the second- or third-most populous metropolitan area in Israel.

Built on the slopes of Mount Carmel, the settlement has a history spanning more than 3,000 years.

As of 2016, the city is a major seaport located on Israel’s Mediterranean coastline in the Bay of Haifa covering 24.6 square miles.

It lies about 56 miles north of Tel Aviv and is the major regional center of northern Israel.

Those were some great basics. This is making us hungry so it’s time to eat.

We’re invited in at minnatomei.rest-e.co.il. You’ll love it.

“Five styles of cuisine taking their inspiration from five markets in the Far East united into one restaurant – minna tomei.

The best of Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, India and Korea. So much the same and yet so different.

Five markets gathering together the essence of Asian culture and harmoniously combining the tastes, smells, colors, languages, customs, sounds, overcrowding and curiosity, into one unique and surprising experience.

We invite you to take part in a journey of magnificent dishes – an abundance of fresh seafood, a variety of dim sum, a selection of soups form the East, rice noodles stir-fried at the hands of a master, and in addition – enjoy our traditional Indian V.I.P. room, Japanese style seating, a children’s menu, and 15% discount seating at the bar after 10:30pm.

The restaurant is located at the Castra Center – a center for the arts in Haifa. The location abounds in greenery and art, plenty of parking and is fully accessible for the disabled.”

Very creative.

Look who has a table next to us. Trip Advisor smiles, “The best of Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, India and Korea. So much the same and yet so different. Very good and delicious food, very nice atmosphere, very highly recommended.

A very good restaurant with various kind of Asian authentic food and in fare price. The staff is very friendly, there is also nice bar for drinks. Nice atmosphere and nice decorations.

Minna Tomei is a great place for a nice family night out. The place was packed. The service was very good. The menu features different kinds of Asian cuisines. I liked the Indian dish we had, less so the Korean, and some of the Thai noodle dishes were very good. The rolls were interesting, good looking and tasty.”

What a fresh idea. A superb multi-ethnic restaurant in the heart of Israel.

Ilana has been a breath of fresh air in the global competitive female freestyle wrestling industry.

Without the advantages of the structure and support systems of so many other Western Countries, what Ilana has accomplished is truly amazing and yes spectacular.

How has she done it?