Uri Bergman is an Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

i paralympic 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...

  champion.

Bergman was born in 1953 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...

 Givat Brener and contracted polio as a young baby. In his youth he was active in the Kibbutz's water polo

Water polo

Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...

 team, and later joining the Israel Sports Center for the Disabled

Israel Sports Center for the Disabled

The Israel Sports Center for the Disabled is an Israeli institution operated by ILAN aimed at rehabilitation of the physically challenged.-History:...

. Throughout the years he won 12 medals at the 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...

.

Bergman was certified as a swimming instructor, social worker and as a psychotherapist. He also completed a PhD

PHD

PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 in psychological rehabilitation and social work. Bergman was hired as coordinator for swimming and hydrotherapy

Hydrotherapy

Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy, involves the use of water for pain-relief and treating illness. The term hydrotherapy itself is synonymous with the term water cure as it was originally marketed by practitioners and promoters in the 19th century...

 at Wingate College and as a swimming coach at the Sports Center for the Disabled. He also coached Hapoel

Hapoel

Hapoel is an Israeli sport association. It was established in 1926 as a union of the Histadrut, and represented the workers class...

's water polo team and the Maccabiah's water polo teams in 1993. He was also head coach for Israeli swimmers attending the Paralympic Games, in some of which he was also a referee.

Bergman is active with the Israeli Paralympic Committee. In 2000 he was introduced into the International Swimming Hall of Fame

International Swimming Hall of Fame

The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of swimming in the United States and around...

.

See also

• Athletes with most gold medals in one event at the Paralympic Games

External links

• Bergman on the International Swimming Hall of Fame website