Matan Ivri Sets New Israeli 1500m Record Amid Six National Age Group Records

On July 26, during the eighth round of the Israeli Athletics Association competition at Hadar Yosef Stadium, Matan Ivri of Hapoel Emek Hefer set a new Israeli record in the 1500 meters with a time of 3:36.38. Although this is the fastest time ever recorded in Israel, Ivri has yet to meet the qualification standard for the World Championships. Currently ranked 32nd globally, he remains hopeful of making the top 30 cutoff, as one athlete ahead of him is injured and another may compete in a different event. Official rankings will be finalized on Thursday.

The event drew hundreds of spectators, matching the attendance of the first day of the Israeli Championships held the previous week in Givat Ram. The strong turnout was attributed to extensive promotion on Facebook and other social media platforms by athletics fans and athletes themselves.

Alongside Ivri, five additional Israeli age group records were broken. Arbel Henzel of Leader Jerusalem set a new youth record in the 1500m with 3:47.56, narrowly missing the U20 World Championships qualifying time by 0.06 seconds. Shagi Lamdiel of Leader Netanya broke the men’s 60m hurdles record with 7.75 seconds, while Liam Akwa of Hapoel Holon set the youth 60m hurdles record at 7.92 seconds. Oron Karnievski of Maccabi Rishon LeZion recorded a new Israeli U23 record in the 110m hurdles with 13.78 seconds, just 0.01 seconds shy of the senior national record. Noa Levi, also from Maccabi Rishon LeZion, improved the women’s 300m hurdles record to 40.93 seconds, beating the previous mark by exactly one second.

These performances highlight a strong showing by Israeli athletes across multiple disciplines, with the upcoming World Championships qualification deadline adding extra significance to the competition.