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Rowing Quartet

The boat has 4 rowers: two men, two women and the helmsman.

The quartet includes: Achiya Klein, Barak Hatzor, Simona Goren, Michal Feinblatt and the Helmsman Marlina Miller (the Helmsman is not disabled).

The Rowing Quartet finished Sixth at the 2019 World Championships in Austria and secured its place in Tokyo.

Achiya Klein

An officer in the a Special Forces Unit of the Engineering Corps, First Lt. Achiya Klein, was fatally wounded in 2013 in a bomb blast while clearing a Hamas tunnel in Gaza and almost completely lost his eyesight.

In 2019, Achiya received the “Rehabilitation Excellence Award” for being highly motivated to rehabilitate himself and return to lead an independent life.

Achiya completed his BA and MA degrees at the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center and returned to serve a period as an engineering officer, despite his severe disability.

Achiya volunteers to help IDF disabled veterans and youth with special needs for skiing and extreme skiing

He is an all-round athlete: he runs marathons, triathlons and rowing.

Age: 29
Marital status: Married +1
Residence: Tel Aviv
Club: Beit Halochem Tel Aviv
Sport: Team Rowing
Coach: Ezra Mitchell
Assistant Coach: Dmitry Margolin

Personal achievements:

2021 – An international competition in Italy wins a Bronze medal with his team
2019 – 6th place in the World Championship
2019 – 1st place in the World Cup round
2017 – 3rd place in the World Cup round

Barak Hatzor

Hatzor grew up in the town of Hoshaya in the Jezreel Valley, served in the Paratroopers’ Brigade and was wounded during an operation in Jenin in 2006. The injury left Barak with a disability in both legs.

Three months after the injury he entered the world of sports – initially playing wheelchair basketball at the Jerusalem’s Beit Halochem, in order to pass the time until he recovered and returned to playing basketball on his feet. However, he liked playing wheelchair basketball and continued.

After years in basketball and participation in the European Championships, Barak moved into the branch of Academic Rowing.

Today he is a competitive athlete, and a physiotherapist by profession working for Kupat Holim Meuhedet in Bat Yam.

Age: 35
Family Status: Single
Residence: Jaffa
Club: Beit Halochem Tel Aviv
Sport: Team Rowing
Coach: Ezra Mitchell
Assistant Coach: Dmitry Margolin

Personal achievements:

Simona Goren

39 yrs. old, married and mother of three daughters, was born with a hereditary eye disease that causes her to gradually go blind.

Michal Feinblatt

36 yrs. old, at the age of 19, Michal Feinblatt competed as a Judoka at the 2004 Athens Olympics At the age of 22 she suffered a shoulder injury. Since then she switched sports to become a Paralympic Rower.

Marlina Miller (Marlina is not disabled) is the Helmsman

Photography: Detlev Seyb / Maren Derlian