Yizhar Cohen is an Israeli paralympic swimmer.

Cohen was born in Kibbutz

Kibbutz

A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...

 Degania Alef. In 1985 he was injured while serving with the Israel Defence Forces, blinded by a mine

Land mine

A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....

. Following his loss of eyesight he began practicing disabled sports

Disabled sports

Disabled sports are sports played by persons with a disability, including physical and intellectual disabilities. As many of these based on existing sports modified to meet the needs of persons with a disability, they are sometimes referred to as adapted sports...

 in athletics and swimming

Swimming (sport)

Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

. Since 1987 he has taken part in international competitions, including six Paralympic Games

Paralympic Games

The Paralympic Games are a major international multi-sport event where athletes with a physical disability compete; this includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and Cerebral Palsy. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which are held immediately following their...

 held between 1988 and 2008. Until 2004 he also took part in four world championships and eight European championships.

Cohen had been swimming in all styles (breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle and backstroke), while today (2008) he is focusing on freestyle swimming. In the 1987 European Championship, held in Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

, he won four gold medals. In the 1988 Summer Paralympics

1988 Summer Paralympics

The 1988 Summer Paralympics were the first Paralympics in 24 years that take place in the same city as the Olympic Games. They took place in Seoul, South Korea. This was the first time the term "Paralympic" came into official use.- Sports :...

 he won three gold medals and one silver. He won further medals at the 1992 Summer Paralympics

1992 Summer Paralympics

The 1992 Summer Paralympics were the ninth Paralympic Games to be held. They were held in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.- Sports :The games consisted of 487 events spread over fifteen sports. Powerlifting and weightlifting were considered to be a single sport...

 (1 bronze) and the 1996 Summer Paralympics

1996 Summer Paralympics

The 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, USA were held from 16 August to 25 August. It was the first Paralympics to get mass media sponsorship, and had a budget of USD $81 million....

 (1 silver). In the 2008 Summer Paralympics

2008 Summer Paralympics

The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games, the thirteenth Paralympics, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to September 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao....

, Cohen was the Israeli flag bearer.

Cohen works as a Shiatsu

Shiatsu

Shiatsu is Japanese for "finger pressure;" it is a type of alternative medicine consisting of finger and palm pressure, stretches, and other massage techniques. There is no scientific evidence proving that shiatsu can treat any disease, but shiatsu practitioners promote it as a way to help people...

therapist and is married and father of two.

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