Israeli runner finishes women’s 5000m final in 10th place
Synchronized swimming duo Eden Blecher and Shelly Bobritsky finish 16th in the free routine, and will dive in again on Tuesday for the technical qualifier
Amy Spiro is a reporter and writer with The Times of Israel
Israeli runner Selamawit Dagnachew Teferi finished 10th in the finals of the 5000m women’s race on Monday at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
With a result of 14:54.39, Teferi came 10th out of 15 competitors in the finals, while the gold went to the Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan with 14:36.79, silver to Kenya’s Hellen Obiri and bronze to Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay.
In the qualifying race on Friday, Teferi set a new national Israeli record with a finishing time of 14:53.43.
On Saturday, Israeli Lonah Chemtai Salpeter — considered a strong medal contender — and Maor Tiyouri will compete in the women’s marathon, while on Sunday, Israelis Marhu Teferi — Selamawit’s husband — Haimro Alame and Girmaw Amare will run in the men’s marathon.
Earlier Monday, Israeli synchronized swimmers Eden Blecher and Shelly Bobritsky dove into the water for the artistic swimming duet free routine qualifying round.
The duo’s routine landed them in 16th place overall out of 22 teams. On Tuesday, they’ll hit the pool again for the qualifying round of the technical routine; their combined scores from the two events will determine if they make it to the final on Wednesday.
The two races scheduled for Monday in the 470 dinghy sailing event — featuring Israeli women Noya Bar-Am and Shahar Tibi — were delayed due to inclement weather, and rescheduled for Tuesday. The duo are currently ranked eighth overall.
Earlier Monday, Israel’s Olympic baseball team was decisively trounced by South Korea 11-1, with the game ending under the “mercy rule” after Israel was trailing by 10 runs. Israel will face the Dominican Republic on Tuesday in a decisive battle: whoever loses is out of medal contention.
Also Tuesday, Israel will make its Olympic debut in equestrian sports when four riders — Ashlee Bond, Teddy Vlock, Alberto Michan and Dani G. Waldman — compete in the jumping individual qualifier.
Israel’s medal count at the Tokyo Games currently stands at three — the most the country has ever brought home from one Olympics. Gymnast Artem Dolgopyat clinched a gold medal in the men’s artistic gymnastics floor exercise on Monday, marking Israel’s first medal in gymnastics and its second-ever gold in Olympic history.
On Saturday, Israel’s judo team won a bronze at the mixed team event, and last Saturday Avishag Semberg took home a bronze in Taekwondo.
