Avishag Semberg after retirement: "Taekwondo was my whole world"

Olympic medalist Avishag Semberg, 25, officially announced her retirement from taekwondo at an emotional press conference, a day after revealing the decision. Semberg spoke about the waning passion over the past year, the mental crisis after Paris 2024, and the heavy costs that accompanied her career.

Olympic medalist Avishag Semberg, 25, officially announced her retirement from taekwondo today (Monday) at a press conference, a day after revealing the decision in a media interview. Semberg, who won a bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics at age 19 and became the youngest Olympic medalist in Israel's history, tearfully described the waning passion over the past year: "I realized my heart was no longer there because I knew how it felt when it was. The fire faded little by little." She recounted the heavy costs of her career: a prolonged mental crisis and four months of insomnia after her early elimination in Paris 2024, extreme diets since age 10 where she had to cut 3 kg from her weight for each competition, and serious injuries including fractures to her eye socket and finger. Semberg concluded: "I gave my all every second along the way, I fulfilled my dreams, I achieved great things, and this sport made me who I am." She left open the question of what the next chapter in her life will be.