Alice Schlesinger

Alice Schlesinger (; born 26 May 1988) is an Israeli-British retired judoka and sambo competitor. She is a shodan in Judo. European Judo Championships silver and bronze (2008, 2009, 2012 & 2017) medalist, world champion in Sambo (2013, 2014 & 2021) as well as world champion in Kurash (2013).

Early life Schlesinger was born and raised in Herzliya, Israel. Her father is an Israeli Jew, whereas her mother is English-born and a convert to Judaism. Her brother introduced her to the sport as a child and her parents took her to competitions on weekends. She is trained by her Israeli boyfriend/coach, Pavel Musin.

Judo career

For Israel Schlesinger has won two Israel national championships (including in 2004, at 57 kg). In October 2004, she won a bronze medal at the 2004 World Juniors Championships, at 57 kg, in Budapest, Hungary.

In July 2005, at the age of 17, Schlesinger competed in the 2005 Maccabiah Games, winning the gold medal by defeating the world champion and former Israeli Daniela Krukower. In October 2005, she won a bronze medal at the 2005 European Junior Championships, at 63 kg, in Zagreb, Croatia.

In September, Schlesinger won a silver medal at the 2006 European Junior Championships, at 63 kg, in Tallinn, Estonia. Despite the medal, she said: "I had a mediocre tournament. I made mistakes in the final. I plan to go over those mistakes with my coach and correct what needs to be corrected".

Schlesinger competed at the age of 20 on behalf of Israel at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, as a half-middleweight at 63 kg, and placed 13th, losing to French silver medalist Lucie Décosse.

In August, Schlesinger won a bronze medal in the 2009 World Championships, at 63 kg, in Rotterdam. In November she won the 2009 European U23 Championships, at 63 kg, in Antalya, Turkey. In September 2011, she won a silver medal at the 2011 Düsseldorf Grand Prix in Germany, at 63 kg. She lost only one match, in the finals by judges' decision to Yoshie Ueno of Japan, the world champion for the prior two years, after beating four opponents, including European champion Elisabeth Willeboordse of the Netherlands.

In July 2012 Schlesinger reached the quarter finals of the 2012 Summer Olympics but lost to Urška Žolnir of Slovenia.

Following the London Olympics, Schlesinger and the Israel Judo Association (IJA) became embroiled in a much publicized conflict. Schlesinger says that the IJA ordered her to put on weight so she could move up a weight class, to make room for Yarden Gerbi in the 63 kg class. Her personal trainer's salary was also cut by the IJA. The IJA denies she was asked to change weight classes, and says it moved to a different, team-oriented coaching program which required Schlesinger to change coaches. As a result of the conflict, Schlesinger decided to stop competing for the Israeli national team, and to compete instead for Great Britain.

For Great Britain In December 2014 the International Judo Federation confirmed that former Israeli Olympian Alice Schlesinger will now compete for Great Britain.

Since then, Schlesinger's accomplishments include a silver medal at the European Judo Open in Sofia, Bulgaria, a gold medal at the 2015 Düsseldorf Grand Prix and a silver medal at the European Women's Judo Open in Prague.

At the 2016 Olympics, Schlesinger beat Bak Ji-yun in the first round before losing to Anicka van Emden in the second round.

At the April 2017 European Championships in Warsaw, Poland, Schlesinger won a bronze medal in the 63 kg.

In May 2019, Schlesinger was selected to compete at the 2019 European Games in Minsk, Belarus, where she won silver.

Medals Sources: Year Tournament Place 2005 Maccabiah Games 2011 Grand Prix Düsseldorf Grand Prix Baku Grand Prix Qingdao 2012 Grand Slam Paris European Championships 2013 Grand Prix Samsun 2015 Grand Prix Düsseldorf Grand Prix Samsun Grand Slam Baku Grand Slam Tyumen Grand Prix Jeju 2016 Grand Prix Düsseldorf Grand Slam Baku 2017 Grand Slam Baku European Championships Grand Prix The Hague 2018 Grand Prix The Hague 2019 Grand Prix Antalya European Games