Shmueli, Zehava

Sport:
track and field

Country Represented:
Israel

Years Competed:
1984

Olympic Info:
At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, the women's marathon was run for the first time in Olympic history. Shmueli finished a respectable 30th in the with a time of 2:40.02; American Joan Benoit won in 2:24.52.

Career Highlights:
Between 1978-1982, Zehava broke all the Israeli long-distance records. In 1981, she finished 25th in the New York City Marathon (out of 25,000 women) with the time of 2:49:51 and broke her own national record; the Jerusalem Post named her the Israel Sportswoman of the Year. The following year, at the Boston Marathon, Shmueli broke the national record again with a tremendous time of 2:44:00.

In 1983, Zehava ran the fastest marathon time of her career in London -- 2:40:29 (her record was broken by Nili Avramski, but Zehava still ranks No. 2). She also finished 36th at the World Championships that year with a time of 2:49:07. In 1984, Shmueli broke the national record in the half-marathon with a time of 1:17:01, which became second all-time, after Avramski surpassed it in January, 2003.

During her career, Shmueli also set Israeli records in the 10,000-meter race in 34:44.87, the 5,000-meter in 16:37.7, the 3,000-meter in 9:24.4. As of May, 2003, she ranked No. 2 in Israeli history in the 10,000-meter and 5,000-meter, third in the 3,000-meter, and fifth in the 1,500-meter.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. May 19, 1955

Origin:
Rehovot, Israel

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