| Mark Malyar מארק מליאר | |
| Nationality: | Israeli |
| Birth Date: | 5 March 2000 |
| Birth Place: | Haifa, Israel |
| Hometown: | Kiryat Motzkin, Israel |
| Country: | Israel |
| Sport: | Para swimming |
| Disability: | Cerebral Palsy[1] |
| Disability Class: | S7, SB6, SM7 |
| Club: | Ilan Sport Center |
| Coach: | Jacob Beninson |
Mark Malyar (he|מארק מליאר; born 5 March 2000) is an Israeli Paralympic champion and world champion para swimmer.[2] As of 2024, he had won four world championships and set four world records. At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, he won two gold medals while setting two world records. He competed for Israel at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, and won a bronze medal in the Men's 100 metre backstroke S8.
Malyar was born with cerebral palsy at Bnei Zion Medical Center in Haifa, Israel. His parents are Alex and Diana, and he has an identical twin brother, Ariel Malyar, who is also a Paralympic swimmer and also competed in the Tokyo Paralympics and is competing in the Paris Paralympics. He grew up in Kiryat Motzkin, Israel.[3]
Malyar began swimming at age 5 with his brother as part of hydrotherapy treatment. Later, he joined the ILAN Haifa swimming team. [4] He trains at the ILAN pool in Kiryat Haim, and is coached by Yaakov Benenson.[4] He was named the 2017 Athlete of the Year by the Israeli Paralympic Committee.[5]
At the 2017 World Championships in Mexico, at 17 years of age, he won a bronze medal in the 100-meter backstroke. At the 2018 European Championships in Dublin he won the silver medal in the 400-meter freestyle, and bronze medals in both the 100-meter breaststroke and the 100-meter backstroke. At the 2019 World Championships in London, he won the gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle (setting a new world record of 4:33.64), and the silver medal in the 200-meter individual medley.[6]
Malyar represented Israel at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics at 21 years of age, and won gold medals in the 200 metre individual medley SM7 (in 2:29.01) and the 400 m freestyle S7 (in 4:31.06), setting new world records in both, and the bronze medal in the 100 m backstroke S7.[1] He said: "I’m happy that I succeeded..., I’m very tired. I didn’t feel that I was even going that fast, but it worked and my body is just about done."[7]
As of August 2024, he held world records in the 400-meter, 800-meter, and 1,500-meter freestyle and 200-meter individual medley, and had won four world championship medals.[8]
He competed for Israel at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. Malyar won a bronze medal in the Men's 100 metre backstroke S8.[9] He dedicated his medal to the Israel Defense Forces soldiers fighting to protect Israel, and said: "I want to thank the soldiers and everyone who protects us, thanks to them we can train and we can get to this point, we’re able to live thanks to them."[10]