Israeli paralympic athlete Tomer Margalit, 25, dazzled audiences earlier this month at the 2021 Para Dance Sport Polish Open. Margalit won a gold medal for her exhilarating women’s single freestyle dance number — inspired by no less an icon than Wonder Woman!
Of course, here at Kveller, it’s literally our job to kvell about this incredible athlete’s performance. But to paraphrase LeVar Burton, you don’t have to take our word for it — Gal Gadot (yes, Wonder Woman herself) is also bursting with pride over the win.
On Tuesday, the Israeli superstar posted on Twitter and Instagram a clip of Margalit’s performance, sharing an inspiring quote from the dancer: “I want to show everyone that anything is possible, even in a wheelchair. Life goes on, even when it’s not easy, even when you face challenges, you can still reach your goals!”
"I want to show everyone that anything is possible, even in a wheelchair.
Life goes on, even when it's not easy, even when you face challenges, you can still reach your goals!"
Thank you @tomer_margalit for this beautiful dance and powerful words. pic.twitter.com/go6xXDHo4e— Gal Gadot (@GalGadot) October 19, 2021
But that’s not all. “You brought me to tears and touched my heart in so many ways,” Gadot writes. “I am so proud and honored to see you wear the Wonder Woman outfit and to help you show the world what a true super hero looks like 🙏.” What a beautiful sentiment — and we’re touched to see that Gadot also tagged “Wonder Woman” director Patty Jenkins in the post. (Maybe Margalit will have a cameo in “Wonder Woman 3”? Here’s hoping!)
In her gold-clinching routine, Margalit dons the iconic red and blue Wonder Woman costume, and performs a dance routine in her wheelchair to music from “Wonder Woman” mashed up with Sia’s “Unstoppable.” The first half of the number features Gadot’s voice, saying, “You used to want to save the world… But the closer you get, the more you see the great darkness within.” Margalit’s smile is absolutely contagious, and the poise and strength she brings to the performance makes her beyond worthy of that gold!
You can watch the entirety of her performance here:
Margalit also earned a silver medal for the women’s single competition for her Latin dance, rocking another amazing outfit:
Margalit, who is from Nes Ziyyona, Israel, became paralyzed from the waist down at age 14 as the result of transverse myelitis, a rare autoimmune disease. She took up para dance eight years after she lost the use of her legs.
While Margalit also danced competitively as a child, as she told the International Paralympic Committee, “When I danced in the beginning in a wheelchair, I was very excited that I could do this again. Then I came almost every day to dance. I really liked it. It’s for the soul. It’s for the body. It’s for everything. And it’s fun.”
In addition to her inspiring career, Margalit’s Instagram page is full of #disabilitypride, with many poses in her wheelchair featuring her amazing fashion. I mean, just check out these lewks:
Mazels to Margalit on this win for Israel, and we can’t wait to see more of her amazing dances at the 2021 World Championships in Ulsan, Korea in November.
