Sanford sets new Israeli record to reach 400m final

Sprinter Donald Sanford qualified for the final of the 400m final at the European Championships in Zurich – and set a new Israeli record in the process.

The 27-year-old American, who received Israeli citizenship three years ago, finished his semi-final heat in a time of 45.39 – bettering the national record he set two weeks ago by 14 hundredths of a second. He will race in Lane 2 for a medal in the final on Friday, with the race beginning at 5.50pm.

There wasn’t though such good news for Israel’s other athletes. Hanna Knyazyeva-Minenko was forced to retire before even attempting a single jump in the triple jump qualifiers, while Girmaw Amare and Aymro Alemaye finished in the last two of the 10,000m race.

Friday morning sees Ma’ayan Shahaf begin her high jump campaign when she takes part in the first round of qualifiers.

Zohar Zemiro will be taking part in the men’s marathon on Sunday morning, beginning at 8am.