Yoav Ra’anan’s parents immigrated from Jerusalem to Egypt in 1921 and Yoav was born in Cairo. He became interested in diving at the age of 11, after watching Denise Newman perform locally and, within two years, he won an Egyptian junior national title in 1941. Among his coaches was Farid Simaika, a two-time Olympic medalist for Egypt in 1928, and by 1946 Ra’anan was runner-up at the senior national championships.
In Egypt, Ra’anan worked for an airline, but in 1947 he moved to what was soon to become the state of Israel and served as a pilot with the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF). He was released in 1950 and returned to civilian service with El Al, as well as returning to diving. That year, he won silver in the springboard at the Maccabiah Games. He was then selected to represent Israel in the diving tournament at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, where he was ninth in the springboard and 30th in the platform. He returned to the Maccabiah Games in 1953, winning both events, and then took gold and silver in the springboard and platform respectively at the 1954 Asian Games. His final stop before retirement was the 1956 Melbourne Games, and while he placed only 22nd in the springboard, he was chosen as the flagbearer for Israel in the opening ceremony. He later served as an international referee, before moving to Johannesburg, South Africa, where he helped supported the Jewish religious community.
Israel