Deutsch, Malawi and Rotem impress
ATHLETICS THE International Olympic Committee may well have acted positively on lessons learned at last year’s World Championships, where endurance competitors suffered so badly in the Doha heat. But changes put in place for the 2020 Olympics look to have come at the expense of one of Israel’s top athletes.
Beatie Deutsch, 30, discovered in December that in addition to relocating the women’s marathon from the humidity of Tokyo to the cooler northern climes of Sapporo, the IOC had moved the date from August 1 to the following Shabbat. So despite her victory earlier this month at the Tiberias marathon, which doubles as the Israeli national championships, the Charedi mother of five already knows that as things stand, even with her new PB of 2:32.25 she has little hope of competing in Japan this summer.
Newcomer Malawi Malka was the surprise winner of the Tiberias men’s race in 2:14.36, with Amir Ramon finishing a very distant second in 2:25.40. It was Ramon, though, who took the national title, as Malka is not yet an Israeli citizen. Maru Teferi won the half marathon in 1:01.23, the fastest time ever recorded in Israel for the event.
Another athlete who stood out at the Tiberias marathon, but for different reasons, was Gilad Rotem, who decided to challenge himself by running the 42.2km distance while pushing his two young sons in a buggy. Rotem, who is also Israel’s most successful Ironman champion, crossed the line in 2:55.42.