European Athletics Championships: Israel wins historic gold medal
Kenyan-born Chemtai Salpeter Lonah becomes Israel's first woman to be crowned a European champion, winning the 10,000m
Andrew Sherwood is the Jewish News Sport and Community Editor
Lonah Chemtai Salpeter became the first Israeli woman to win gold at a European Athletics Championships on Wednesday night.
Winning the 10,000m at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, the 29-year-old finished nine seconds ahead of Susan Krumins, in a time of in a time of 31.43.29, and said: “It means a lot and it is an honour for my country.”
Moving to Israel in 2008, as a nanny for the children of Kenya’s Ambassador to Israel, she met Israeli running coach Dan Salpeter, with the two getting married in2014. Granted Israeli citizenship in March 2016, she represented the country at the 2016 Olympics, though had to pull out injured of the marathon. Her win on Wednesday will see her earn around £8,500.
Elsewhere in Berlin, triple-jumper Hanna Knyazyeva-Minenko qualified for Friday’s final with a jump of 14.41m on her final attempt. She said: “It was by far my toughest early competition. The heat was unbearable, the technical failure that negated my second jump jolted me a bit, and I knew that in the third jump I had to really rise to the occasion. I set the result of my year now and I hope to improve it in the final.”
Donald Sanford failed to qualify for the final of the 400m on Wednesday, after he finished fifth in his heat.
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