SPORT BRIEFS – Copy to new draft test

LONDON MARATHON

Strong finish for Salpeter

ISRAELI long distance runner Lonah Chemtai Salpeter (pictured) finished fifth among women competing in last Sunday’s London Marathon.

Salpeter — a native of Kenya who became an Israeli citizen in 2016 — recorded a time of 2:18:54, just over a minute behind women’s race winner Joyciline Jepkosgei of Kenya.

That impressive result follows a disappointing Tokyo Olympics campaign for Salpeter, who was in the front pack of runners with just 4km remaining, when she had to pause due to experiencing severe pain from menstrual cramps, before courageously finishing in 66th place.

The 32-year-old plans to represent Israel again at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, and the 2024 Olympics.

CYCLING

Courage on the cobblestones

THE Israel Start-Up Nation (ISN) pro-cycling team shone in its debut in arguably the world’s toughest one-day international race – the 2021 Paris-Roubaix – with two top-10 placings in the race that’s informally called the Cobblestone World Cup, and the ‘Hell of the North’.

The team’s Belgian rider Tom van Asbroeck (pictured) was ISN’s top finisher in eighth place, just in front of his Canadian teammate Guillaume Boivin, who came ninth.

They, and their competitors, were hardly recognisable at the finish line, as they were covered from head to toe in mud, cuts and bruises.

It had rained heavily in the days prior, causing puddles galore, areas of mud, and an extremely slippery surface on large segments of the 259km course, particularly on the 55km of cobblestones.

Crashes, punctures, attacks and comebacks occurred at regular intervals.

“That was the hardest day of my career – with these conditions, it’s another level,” said van Asbroeck, who was in the lead group for the first 150km of the race.

Photo: Luca Bettini