David Kushnir (דוד קושניר; J21 June 1931 – 18 October 2020) was an Israeli Olympic long-jumper and

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

coach. He was born in

Afula Afula ( he, עפולה Arabic: العفولة) is a city in the Northern District of Israel, often known as the "Capital of the Valley" due to its strategic location in the Jezreel Valley. As of , the city had a population of . Afula's ancient ...

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

(now in Israel), and was Jewish. When Kushnir competed in the Olympics he was tall and weighed .

Track and field career

Kushnir won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

in the

broad jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

(also known as the long jump) at the

1953 Maccabiah Games Eight hundred ninety athletes representing 23 countries competed in the 1953 4th Maccabiah Games, held September 20 to 29, in 18 branches of sports. Israeli President Itzhak Ben-Zvi opened the Games at Ramat Gan Stadium in Tel Aviv District, in f ...

. He competed for Israel at the 1956 Summer Olympics, at the age of 25, in

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropol ...

in the Men's Long Jump, jumped a distance of 6.89 meters, but did not qualify for the finals, and came in 25th. Kushnir won the gold medal in the broad jump at the

1957 Maccabiah Games Twenty-one countries sent 980 athletes to compete in the 1957 5th Maccabiah Games, an international Jewish athletics competition similar to the Olympics. The opening ceremony on September 15, 1957, was held in Ramat Gan Stadium, with athletes parad ...

. Kushnir also competed for

Israel at the 1960 Summer Olympics Israel competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. 23 competitors, 17 men and 6 women, took part in 28 events in 7 sports. Results by event Athletics Cycling Two cyclists, both men, represented Israel in 1960. Fencing Two s ...

, at the age of 29, in Rome, Italy, in the Men's Long Jump, jumped 7.20 meters, and came in 25th. He won the Israeli Championship in the long jump in 1960, 1961, 1963, and 1964. Kushnir coached the Israeli national track and field team from 1970 to 1982. At the 1978 World Veterans Championship (age 40–45), Kushnir won the broad jump. On top of being Israeli champion and national record holder in the long jump, Kushnir also won national championships in

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

, and

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...

. He was the national record holder in triple jump (1954, 5 years) and

decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in Athletics (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...

(1954, 6 years).

Football career

Kushnir played football for Hapoel Balfouria while the club played at the top division, scoring goals for the club in matches against

Maccabi Netanya Maccabi Netanya F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל מכבי נתניה, ''Football Club Maccabi Netanya'') is an Israeli football club based in Netanya. Established in 1934, the club was a founding member of the Israeli League in 1949. Afte ...

and Hapoel HaderaHapoel T.A. – Beitar T.A. 1:1
Al HaMishmar, 17 April 1955, Historical Jewish Press during the 1954–55 season.

After retirement

After his retirement, Kushnir moved into track and field coaching. His most prominent trainee was long jumper and triple jumper

Rogel Nachum Rogel Nachum (or Nahum, he, רוגל נחום; born 21 May 1967) is a retired Israeli triple jumper, whose personal best was 17.20 meters, achieved in June 1992 in Seville. Nachum participated in three Olympic Games: Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 19 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kushnir, David Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Israel People from Afula Competitors at the 1957 Maccabiah Games Maccabiah Games medalists in athletics 1931 births 2020 deaths Israeli male long jumpers Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Competitors at the 1953 Maccabiah Games Maccabiah Games gold medalists for Israel Hapoel Balfouria F.C. players Israeli Jews Jewish male athletes (track and field) Israeli athletics coaches Association footballers not categorized by position Israeli footballers 20th-century Israeli people