Israel’s Samuel captures silver at rowing Worlds

Paralympian Moran Samuel claimed a silver medal at the World Rowing Championships in Sarasota, Florida, on Sunday.

The 35-year-old Israeli came up just short in her attempt to defend her world title from two years ago, but was nevertheless delighted after scaling the podium at the championships for a third straight edition.

Samuel won a bronze medal in 2011 and took a silver in 2014 before striking gold in 2015. She claimed her first Paralympic medal at Rio last summer, taking a bronze.

She crossed the finish line after 2,000 meters on Sunday in a new Israeli best time of 11:20.81 minutes, but still six seconds behind Norway’s Birgit Skarstein. The championships in Sarasota are the first in which the Para competitions are also being contested over a two kilometer course, like the rest of the events, rather than just over one kilometer.

“I’m thrilled to once again represent Israel successfully, and return home with a medal,” said Samuel, who trains alternately at Gavirate in Italy and at the Daniel Rowing Center in Tel Aviv.

“Doubling the course length from 1,000 to 2,000 meters set the ground for a tough struggle, demanding extreme endurance. We have time until the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics to learn the best way to compete over this new distance. Although I wanted to defend my title, I’m happy to finish as runner-up and I’m going to celebrate!"