Israeli sprinter fails to make 400m senifinals after shoes stolen
An Israeli sprinter lost his bid to make the semifinals
in the Olympic 400m dash after his shoes were stolen.
Donald Sanford failed to qualify for the 400m after
running Saturday in borrowed shoes.
He argued with the judges prior to the race in order to
get more time in order to put on a pair of loaner shoes, missing an opportunity
to warm up before the race, according to reports.
Sanford finished fifth in his heat with a time of 45.71
seconds, his best this season. But he told Israeli media that he could have run
faster in his own shoes, which he said were stolen.
American-born Sanford’s connection to Israel began at
Arizona State University, where he met a fellow student named Danielle Dekel,
the kibbutznik who would become his wife. Raised in an athletic family -- his
brother played college football and his sister professional basketball in
Europe -- he was pursuing a track career at the university.
Sanford married Dekel in 2008 and now lives half the year
on her family’s kibbutz, Ein Shemer, on Israel’s northern coast, spending the
rest of the year in Arizona. He has an Israeli passport and in March was given
permission to compete on behalf of Israel.
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