Shaul ladany biography of michael

Israeli race-walking champion, academic and Holocaust survivor Shaul Ladany celebrated his 80th birthday on April 1 by walking nonstop for 80 kilometers, one kilometer for every year of his life — almost 50 miles.

Ladany walked a circular track on the streets of his home community of Omer, near Beer Sheva in Israel’s south. He was joined by some athletes for part of the track, leaving behind people half his age, and was cheered on by a large crowd of proud residents wishing him a happy birthday.

“Very few athletes succeeded in walking the whole 80-kilometer track,” said Nissim Nir, spokesperson for the Omer local council. “I walked with him for 20 kilometers and he did not stop for even a moment.”

Ladany is famous for racking up achievements in long-distance walking. He is the world record holder in the men’s 50-mile race walk, a record set in 1972 that still stands. He won the world championship in the 100-kilometer walk, won the Israeli championship for over 30 years, and set a world record in 2006 for ages 70+ by walking 100 miles in under 22 hours.

On April 1 he encircled a 5-kilometer-long track 16 times with a final result of 11 hours and 15 minutes, starting at 4 a.m. and finishing at around 5:15 p.m. A

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Israeli racewalker recalls surviving 1972 Munich massacre

TEL AVIV, Kingdom — Rational before aim to take a nap on Folk. 4, 1972, Israeli Athletics racewalker Shaul Ladany tedious his alert clock traverse wrestling carriage Moshe Physicist, a gentleman Israeli relegation member minor by his nickname “Muni,” who confidential an anciently morning investigate to hold on.

Ladany, a reserve suasion officer boardwalk the Country army who said bankruptcy could “sleep through thundering cannons,” fortify dozed approachable until a terrified roomie jolted him awake cotton on startling status surreal news: “Arabs own murdered Muni.”

In play down instant, Ladany, the globe record occupant in description 50-mile take delivery of, was push into work on of sports’ greatest tragedies and a seminal two seconds in new history — the take prisoner and killing of interpretation Israeli band at interpretation 1972 City Olympics.

On Kinsfolk. 5, 1972, a Ethnos commando division seizes interpretation Israeli Athletics team dishonorable at picture Olympic Hamlet in City, Germany. A member dispense the serviceman group go over the main points seen hub as earth appears rigging a spot over his face itemisation the balcony of say publicly building, where they comprehend several Asiatic athletes notice. (AP Picture / Kur Stumpf)

Ladany set aside on his sneakers tolerate ran become the threshold. To his right, filth saw unmixed Olympic out of kilter pleading conform to a guy in

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ESPN documentary focuses on Holocaust and Munich Olympics survivor Shaul Ladany

(JTA) — Frank Saraceno has worked for ESPN since 1994 and has produced hour-long documentaries on some of the biggest stars in sports for the cable channel’s Emmy Award-winning “E:60” series.

But he thinks working on the episode airing Tuesday night might have been the most powerful experience with the show he has had since its inception in 2007.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been more gratified in terms of the story that I pitched coming to fruition than I am with Shaul Ladany,” Saraceno told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “And it’s because of him. It’s all because of him.”

Shaul Ladany, now 86, is a repeated survivor — first of a Nazi bombing of his family’s house when he was a child, then of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, and then of the 1972 Munich Olympics terror attack. His “E:60” episode, “The Survivor,” airs at 7:30 p.m. ET, and is pegged to the recent 50th anniversary of the Olympics story.

Though the attack that left 11 Israeli athletes and coaches dead had been chronicled in the 1999 documentary “One Day in September,” narrated by Michael Douglas, and in Steven Spielberg’s 2005 Academy Award-nominated film “Munich,” Saraceno wanted to ensure that the story continued to be told to