Maya Calé-Benzoor (also "Kalle-Bentzur"; ; born September 5, 1958) is an Israeli former Olympic runner and

long 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 ...

er."Benzoor, Maya"
/ref> Calé-Benzoor set the Israeli indoor long jump record (6.13 metres). She was a medalist at the

1973 Maccabiah Games The 9th Maccabiah Games, which were held from July 9 to 19, 1973, were opened in Ramat Gan Stadium, Israel. Spain and Costa Rica made their debuts in the Games. A total of 1,800 athletes competed on behalf of 27 countries in 20 branches of sport, i ...

, and at the

1981 Maccabiah Games The 11th Maccabiah Games brought 3,450 athletes to Israel from 35 nations. The Opening Ceremony was held on July 7, 1981, before a crowd of 53,000 and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in Ramat Gan Stadium, with 3,500 Jewish athletes paradin ...

she 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 b ...

in the long jump. 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 receives ...

in the

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 long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...

at the European Masters’ Championships in 2001. She was born in Israel, and is Jewish.

Education

Calé-Benzoor has a B.Ed. in

Physical Education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

from

Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1899, it was the third and final university established in the Arizona Territory. It is one of the three universities gove ...

(1984), where she set the school outdoor long jump record at , NAU records in both the women's indoor and outdoor long (20' 6".00) and

s (41' 3".75), and 40' 5".00 in the indoor triple jump. She placed third in the triple jump at the 1984 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships meet. Calé-Benzoor was an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

All American in 1984. In 1989 she was inducted into the NAU Athletic Hall of Fame. She also has a Diploma in

Physiotherapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease preventio ...

Studies from

Wingate Institute Wingate Institute (), officially Orde Wingate Institute for Physical Education and Sports (), is a sports training institute located south of Netanya, Israel. History Wingate Institute was established in 1957. It was named after Orde Wingate. ...

in Israel (1981), a master's degree in Sport Injury Rehabilitation from

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a Public university, public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is al ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

(1990), and a PhD in Welfare and Health Studies from

Haifa University The University of Haifa (, ) is a public research university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963 as a branch of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation as an indepen ...

Running and long jump career

Her personal bests were 12.19 in the 100 metre dash (in 1977), and 6.27 metres in the long jump (in 1984). She set the Israeli indoor long jump record (6.13 metres). Calé-Benzoor was a medalist at the

. At the

she won the

in the long jump. Calé-Benzoor competed for Israel at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California at the age of 25. In the Women's 100 metres she came in 6th in Heat 5 with a time of 12.30 (missing qualifying for the next round by .04 seconds), and in the Women's Long Jump she came in 16th with a jump of 6.07 metres (missing qualifying for the next round by 0.12 metres). She won a

in the

at the European Masters’ Championships in 2001.

Career after the Olympics

Calé-Benzoor worked as a physiotherapist and clinic manager in Phoenix, Arizona, and Atlanta, Georgia, and became the First Head of the Women's Sports Committee at the Maccabi Israel Center. She was the Deputy Manager of the Physiotherapy Department at Wingate Institute, and is now the Director of Sports Injury Rehabilitation at Wingate Institute and a lecturer in the Physiotherapy Program at Haifa University.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cale-Benzoor, Maya Jewish track and field athletes Maccabiah Games medalists in athletics Competitors at the 1981 Maccabiah Games Living people Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Israeli female long jumpers 1958 births Israeli female sprinters Olympic athletes for Israel Maccabiah Games gold medalists for Israel Competitors at the 1973 Maccabiah Games Northern Arizona Lumberjacks women's track and field athletes Wingate Institute alumni Georgia State University alumni University of Haifa alumni American physiotherapists