Israel's 90th Athletics Championship Kicks Off With Multiple National Records

The 90th edition of the Israeli Athletics Championship began on July 20, delivering thrilling competitions and several new national records as athletes prepare for upcoming international events this summer. The event opened with a standout performance by pole vaulter Yarden Mental (Maccabi Tel Aviv), who set new Israeli U20 and U23 records with a 4.16-meter vault, improving her previous mark by one centimeter.

In the women's discus throw, Estelle Valano (Maccabi Tel Aviv) claimed her 11th consecutive national title with a throw of 56.17 meters, nearing the qualifying standard for the European Championships in the UK next month. On the men's side, Denis Velyaulin (Maccabi Tel Aviv) won the discus with 54.37 meters, edging out Menachem Mendel Chen (Maccabi Rishon LeZion) who threw 52.52 meters.

The men's triple jump saw Ori Arnon (Atleti HaNegev) take first place with 15.24 meters, followed by Guy Margalit and Roy Leibovitz, both from Maccabi Tel Aviv. Another record was set by Noam Mamo, who broke the Israeli U23 400-meter record with a time of 46.58 seconds, improving the mark set just days earlier in Belgium.

Emmanuel Aka (Hapoel Holon) won the men's 100 meters title for the first time, clocking 10.38 seconds in the final after a personal best of 10.36 seconds in the heats. Mercy Afrifa (Maccabi Tel Aviv) secured the women's 100 meters crown with 11.72 seconds, narrowly beating Alina Drotman (Maccabi Rishon LeZion) by one hundredth of a second.

Other highlights included Linoy Levi (Maccabi Rishon LeZion) winning the women's 100-meter hurdles in 13.66 seconds, and Shagai Lamdiel (Leader Netanya) taking the men's 110-meter hurdles with 13.87 seconds, just shy of his own national record. In the women's long jump, Romi Tamir (Maccabi Tel Aviv) successfully defended her title with 6.36 meters.

Jonathan Kapitulnik (Maccabi Tel Aviv) retained his men's high jump title with a 2.18-meter leap. In the women's 400 meters, Nitzan Assas (Maccabi Tel Aviv) won with a personal best of 54.76 seconds after a close race with teammate Darlin Asante. The men's 1500 meters was won by Arbel Henzel (Leader Jerusalem) in 3:48.57, while Karwan Halabi Kablan took the women's 1500 meters in 4:16.45.

In the men's javelin throw, Rafael Prolinger (Leader Jerusalem) set a personal best and won with 63.79 meters. The championship continues to showcase Israel's top athletic talent as they gear up for international competitions.