Noam Gershoni: From Combat Helicopter Crash to ParaOlympic Gold
Ono Academic College hosted Noam Gershoni presenting his inspiring story, “I don’t waste the life I received as a gift” in the new auditorium at its Savyon junction campus. The lecture was broadcast by zoom to the Haifa and Jerusalem campuses.
Noam Gershoni is a former combat helicopter pilot, holding the rank of captain in the IDF reserves, a paralympic athlete and gold medalist in wheelchair tennis at the London 2012 Olympics.
Noam’s story is one of Israeli pride, perseverance and determination, a story against all odds, a story of choosing life.
Gershoni narrated the trajectory of his life from the black box to a gold medal. It included uncertainty, crises, a routine that is turned upside down and many failures. However, it also included competitiveness, achievement, and overcoming crises and limitations.
Noam experienced such extreme situations and still triumphed, in spite of everything. He is a source of inspiration and a motivation for everyone who hears his story. The lessons that Noam can teach are applicable to all.
In his lecture, Noam also shared selected excerpts from the long rehabilitation journey that followed his helicopter crash – from the first time he got up from the hospital bed, through his return to the world of sports in a wheelchair, to winning the Olympic medal. He described how he was able to achieve goals faster, how he chose to go into competitive sports and what preparations he made before every game in the Olympics.
