Hana Shezifi (also Channa or Hannah and Shezifi-Zadik or -Tsadik; חנה שזיפי; born November 5, 1943) is an Israeli former Olympic runner. Shezifi is a former Israeli Women's Champion in the 400 metres, 800 metres, and 1500 metres, won a

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 ...

for Israel in the 800 metres at the

1966 Asian Games The 1966 Asian Games (), also known as the V Asiad, were a continental multi-sport event that was held from 9 to 20 December 1966, in Bangkok, Thailand. A total of 142 events in 16 sports were contested by athletes during the games. Taiwan and Isr ...

, and won gold medals for Israel in the 800 metres and the 1500 metres at the

1970 Asian Games The 6th Asian Games () were held from 9 to 20 December 1970 in Bangkok, Thailand.- - Seoul, South Korea, had been selected to host the 6th Games but it declined due to both financial reasons and security threats from neighboring North Korea. (T ...

. She was voted the 1970 Outstanding Woman Athlete by the Asian Track and Field Federation, and was voted Israel's Athlete of the Year in 1970.

Early and personal life

Shezifi was born in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

, Iraq, and is Jewish."Shezifi, Hana"
/ref> She is married to Ilan Shezifi, chief tournament director for the Israel Bridge Federation, who is also a former runner.

Track career

Shezifi began running with

Petach Tikva Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Jews of the Old Yishuv, and became a permanent set ...

Hapoel Hapoel ( he, הפועל, lit. ''the worker'') is an Israeli Jewish sports association established in 1926 by the Histadrut Labor Federation. History During the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Palestine period Hapoel had a bitter rivalry ...

when she was 16 years old. Her personal bests were 56.35 in the 400 metre run (1968), and 2:06.5 in the 800 metre run (1970). She was the Israeli Women's Champion in the 400 metres (1967), in the 800 metres (1961–68, 1971), and in the 1500 metres (1970). Shezifi competed for Israel in the

1965 Maccabiah Games The 7th Maccabiah Games in 1965 saw 1,500 athletes from 29 different countries compete in 21 sports. It was the first Maccabiah Games for Iran, Jamaica, Peru, and Venezuela. The United States delegation won the most gold medals, followed by Israel, ...

. She won a

for

Israel at the 1966 Asian Games Israel participated in the 1966 Asian Games held in Bangkok, Thailand from 9 December to 20 December 1966. Israel had previously been unable to complete during the 1962 Asian Games when the host country Indonesia, refused to permit the participa ...

in the 800 metres in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

in 2:10.5."Asian Games"
gbrathletics.com Shezifi competed for

Israel at the 1968 Summer Olympics Israel competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico. 29 competitors, 26 men and 3 women, took part in 20 events in 4 sports. Results by event Athletics Football Preliminary round - Group C During the Group C competition, ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, Mexico, at the age of 24, in track. In the Women's 400 metres she came in 7th in Heat 3 with a time of 56.3, and in the Women's 800 metres she came in 6th in Heat 2 with a time of 2:09.23. When she competed in the Olympics she was 5–1.5 (157 cm) tall and weighed 108 lbs (49 kg). She won gold medals for Israel at the 1970 Asian Games in the 800 metres (2:06.5; winning by 40 metres and setting an Israeli record) and the 1500 metres (4:25) in Thailand, and Shezifi was voted the Outstanding Woman Athlete by the Asian Track and Field Federation. Shezifi was voted Israel's Athlete of the Year in 1970. She won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

for Israel in the 1500 metres (4:31) at the

1974 Asian Games The 7th Asian Games ( fa, بازی‌های آسیایی ۱۹۷۴) were held from 1 to 16 September 1974 in Tehran, Imperial State of Iran. The Aryamehr Sports Complex was built for the Games. The Asian Games were hosted in the Middle East for th ...

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

, Iran. She also won bronze medals in the 1500 metres and the 3000 metres at the

1975 Asian Athletics Championships The second Asian Athletics Championships were held in 1975 in Seoul, South Korea. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table External linksGBR Athletics {{asian athletics champs Asian Athletics Championships Asian Sport in ...

held in

Seoul, South Korea Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

.Ronnie Darom-Simri
"Sport: Yishuv to the Present,"
Jewish Women's Archive

Bridge career

Since 1996, Shezifi has been Chairperson of the Israeli Bridge Federation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shezifi, Hana Living people Israeli female middle-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1974 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics 1943 births Sportspeople from Baghdad Competitors at the 1965 Maccabiah Games Maccabiah Games competitors for Israel Olympic athletes of Israel Jewish female athletes (track and field) Asian Games gold medalists for Israel Asian Games bronze medalists for Israel Medalists at the 1966 Asian Games Medalists at the 1970 Asian Games Medalists at the 1974 Asian Games Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Israeli people of Iraqi-Jewish descent Iraqi emigrants to Israel