The Israeli record for the women's 100-meter sprint, set 46 years ago at the infamous 1972 Munich Olympics by Esther Roth Shachmorov, has been broken.
Sprinter Diana Weissman ran the 100 meters in 11:38, seven-hundredths of a second faster than Shachmorov's 11:45 record, Tuesday evening at the Israeli Athletics Championship.
Two weeks ago, Weissman, who turns 20 this month and is currently serving in the IDF, clocked a time of 11:48 for the 100 meters.
"I'm happy I did it [broke the record] in our country. It took 46 years, but then I showed up," Weissman said.
Shachmorov, who missed seeing the record-setting run, complimented the young athlete and said she had missed the run itself. "I looked at the clock … I couldn't believe it, then I saw Diana. A burden has been lifted off my shoulders," she said.
Shachmorov hugged Weissman and told her, "You chose to do it here. Based on what I see, you can still improve. You have the legs to do it. Now give it everything you have in competition."
Shachmorov said she hoped Weissman would break records abroad, as well, and help propel track and field ahead. The current women's world record for the 100 meters is 10:40, set by American sprinter Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988.
In 2014, Runner Olga Lansky broke the Israeli record for the women's 100-meter dash, completing the distance in 11.42 seconds at the Hadar Yosef stadium in Tel Aviv. But Lansky's new record was subsequently revoked when she refused to submit to a doping wwww.
The women's 100 meters wasn't the only record broken Tuesday night. Middle distance runner Lonah Chemtai ran the 1,500 meters in 4:11:69, breaking a record set by Edna Lankri in 1993 (4:14:18).
"I'm happy, but a little disappointed, because I expected a faster time," Chemtai said.
