Golan Pollack (; born 10 September 1991 in Yehud, Israel) is an Israeli Olympic judoka. who competed in the half lightweight (under 66 kg) weight category.
Pollack won a bronze medal in the 2015 World Championships and represented Israel at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He is tall, and weighs
Pollack won a gold medal at the 2009 Maccabiah Games in the 66 kg division.
At the 2011 World Championships, Pollack reached the quarterfinals, where he was defeated by Miklós Ungvári of Hungary. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Pollak lost in the first round to David Larose of France.
Pollack won the European Open in Sofia in 2014. On 5 December, Pollack won a silver medal at the 2014 Tokyo Grand Slam.
On 25 August, Pollack won a bronze medal at the 2015 World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan after defeating Davaadorjiin Tömörkhüleg of Mongolia. During that day he also beat Georgii Zantaraia of Ukraine, ranked number one in the world. He became the sixth Israeli to win a medal at the World Judo Championships, joining Yael Arad (1991, bronze; 1993, silver), Oren Smadja (1995, silver), Ariel Ze'evi (2001, silver), Alice Schlesinger (2009, bronze), and Yarden Gerbi (2013, gold; 2014, silver).
Pollack won a silver medal at the 2016 Düsseldorf Grand Prix, losing in the final to world champion An Ba-ul of Korea.
Pollack represented Israel at the 2016 Summer Olympics in judo, competing in the men's 66 kg event where he was ranked 6th. After receiving a first-round bye, he was eliminated by Zambia's Mathews Punza. His coach, former Olympic medalist Oren Smadja, said: âÂÂGolan used a move he shouldnâÂÂt have used and doesnâÂÂt usually use. The move doesnâÂÂt even have a name. ItâÂÂs a move where you try to surprise your opponent by falling on your back on the mat, but it risks a lock, which is exactly what happened to Golan. Golan lost to himself, and his opponent got a gift." Pollack left the match in tears, and collapsed to his knees, hiding his face. He said: âÂÂIâÂÂm very disappointed, especially after all the long way IâÂÂve come in the last four years.... I thank everyone for their support, and IâÂÂm sorry IâÂÂve disappointed you.âÂÂ
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