Esther Roth-Shachamarov
Encyclopedia
Esther Roth-Shachamarov (Hebrew: אסתר רוט-שחמורוב) (born April 16, 1952 in Tel Aviv
) is a former Israel
i track and field
athlete. She specialized in the 100-meter hurdles and the 100-meter sprint
.
s and one silver medal in two Asian Games
. She won golds in 100m hurdles and pentathlon and a silver in long jump in 1970
, and three golds, in 100 m, 200 m, and 100 m hurdles, in 1974
.
in Munich
, Roth just barely missed qualifying for the final in the 100-meter sprint. She qualified for the 100-meter hurdles semifinal, but withdrew from the Games, together with the remaining members of the Israel Olympic team, after the murder of her longtime coach, Amitzur Shapira
, and ten other members of the Israeli team, by Palestinian terrorists.
In 1976 Summer Olympics
in Montreal
, Roth became the first ever Israeli athlete to reach the finals in any Olympic event, and she is still the only Israeli Olympic finalist in track events, when she finished 6th in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.04 seconds.
in 11.75; the 200-meter race in the 1977 Maccabiah Games
in 24.03; the 100-meter hurdles in the same games in 13.50; and the long jump
in the 1969 Maccabiah Games
with a 19 foot, 3/4 inch (5.81 meter) jump.
for sports.
She appears in the 1997 Oscar winning documentary One Day in September in which she gave her impressions and feelings during the 1972 Munich Athletes hostages crisis.
In 2005, she was voted the 127th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet
to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
) is a former Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
athlete. She specialized in the 100-meter hurdles and the 100-meter sprint
Sprint (race)
Sprints are short running events in athletics and track and field. Races over short distances are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event—the stadion race, which was a race from one end of the stadium to the other...
.
Records
She once held simultanousely five Israeli national records. One of them is still a record and two others held for over 20 years.- Her time of 11.45 in 100 mseconds, set at the 1972 Summer Olympics1972 Summer OlympicsThe 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....
in MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, still stands as the Israeli national record. - Her time of 12.93 seconds in 100m hurdles, set in BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
shortly after the 1976 Summer Olympics1976 Summer OlympicsThe 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...
, held as a national record for 26 years, until it was broken by Irina LenskiyIrina Lenskiy-Personal life:She was a Ukrainian citizen, known as Irina Lenskaya, until 1999 when she emigrated to Israel. She also held the surname Omelchenko for a period....
in 2002. - Her time of 23.57 seconds in 200m, set in StuttgartStuttgartStuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
in 1975, held as a record for 29 years, until it was also broken by Lenskiy in 2002. - Her mark of 6.14m in long jump was a national record from 1971 to 1984.
- Her record of 6233 points in pentathlon was a national record from 1971 until the format was changed in 1977.
Asian Games
Roth won five gold medalGold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
s and one silver medal in two Asian Games
Asian Games
The Asian Games, officially known as Asiad, is a multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until the 1978 Games. Since the 1982 Games they have been organised by the...
. She won golds in 100m hurdles and pentathlon and a silver in long jump in 1970
1970 Asian Games
The 6th Asian Games were held from December 9, 1970 to December 20, 1970 in Bangkok, Thailand. Originally Seoul, South Korea was selected to host the 6th Games but it declined due to both financial reasons and security threats from neighboring North Korea. Previous host Thailand stepped in to save...
, and three golds, in 100 m, 200 m, and 100 m hurdles, in 1974
1974 Asian Games
The 7th Asian Games were held from September 1, 1974 to September 16, 1974 in Tehran, Iran. The Aryamehr sports complex was made for the Games. The Asian Games were hosted in the Middle East for the first time...
.
Olympics
At the 1972 Summer Olympics1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....
in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Roth just barely missed qualifying for the final in the 100-meter sprint. She qualified for the 100-meter hurdles semifinal, but withdrew from the Games, together with the remaining members of the Israel Olympic team, after the murder of her longtime coach, Amitzur Shapira
Amitzur Shapira
Amitzur Shapira was an Israeli short distance runners in the 1950s and a coach for the Israeli track and field team at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. At the time of his death he was also one of the country's best track coaches.-Early life:...
, and ten other members of the Israeli team, by Palestinian terrorists.
In 1976 Summer Olympics
1976 Summer Olympics
The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Roth became the first ever Israeli athlete to reach the finals in any Olympic event, and she is still the only Israeli Olympic finalist in track events, when she finished 6th in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.04 seconds.
Maccabiah Games
Roth won the 100-meter race in the 1973 Maccabiah Games1973 Maccabiah Games
The 1973 Maccabiah Games were held in the shadow of the Munich massacre. 60,000 spectators packed Ramat Gan Stadium as Golda Meir and Abba Eban paid homage to the slain athletes.Esther Roth of Israel won the 100-meter race in 11.75, as well as the 200-meter....
in 11.75; the 200-meter race in the 1977 Maccabiah Games
1977 Maccabiah Games
Called the Jubilee Maccabiah, the 1977 10th Maccabiah Games saw the number of competing athletes nearly double.From 33 countries, 2,700 athletes came to compete in 26 sports....
in 24.03; the 100-meter hurdles in the same games in 13.50; and the long jump
Long jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...
in the 1969 Maccabiah Games
1969 Maccabiah Games
At the 8th Maccabiah Games in 1969, 1,450 athletes from 27 countries competed in 22 sports.Germany and Greece sent teams for the first time since the 1935 Games.A new swimming pool was dedicated at Yad Eliyahu.American swimmer Mark Spitz won 6 gold medals....
with a 19 foot, 3/4 inch (5.81 meter) jump.
Awards
In 1999, Roth was awarded the Israel PrizeIsrael Prize
The Israel Prize is an award handed out by the State of Israel and is largely regarded as the state's highest honor. It is presented annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state ceremony in Jerusalem, in the presence of the President, the Prime Minister, the Knesset chairperson, and the...
for sports.
She appears in the 1997 Oscar winning documentary One Day in September in which she gave her impressions and feelings during the 1972 Munich Athletes hostages crisis.
In 2005, she was voted the 127th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet
Ynet
Ynet is the most popular Israeli news and general content website. It is owned by the same conglomerate that operates Yediot Ahronot, the country's secondleading daily newspaper...
to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.
Personal
Esther Shahamorov (her maiden name) married in 1973 with Peter Roth, a gymnast, who became her coach. She has a son, Yaron (born 1974), who was a national champion in fencing, and a daughter, Einat. After she retired from competitive sport she became a sports schoolteacher.See also
- List of Israel Prize recipients