Sam Shindler-Glass celebrated his seventeenth birthday in style at the Maccabiah Games in Israel in July, bringing home two medals. This event, often dubbed the “Jewish Olympics”, is held every 4 years, and this year saw 9,000 athletes competing from 77 countries.
On day one of the athletics, Sam took silver in the 1500m in a time of 4:07.62. On his birthday the following day, he went one better, clocking 1:58.43 in the 800m to win gold. This was all the more remarkable given he had also competed in the 3000m just an hour earlier, where he finished fifth in a season’s best time of 9:14.93.
Interviewed after his races, Sam commented: “Both the 800m and the 1500m came down to final sprints after uneven early pace. I couldn’t catch Tal Braude of the USA in the 1500m, but in the 800m I pushed hard with 300m to go and did not look back. It was a relief to break the tape and a thrill that my birthday was announced on the top of the podium”.
Well done to Sam for joining our band of international athletes!