It has a bit of everything in it: about the great achievement of Luna Chamtai Salpter

There are many types of athletes and the Israeli runner had to taste everything so that she could connect the pieces of the puzzle to a successful marathon after something had always gone awry in the past.

In Oregon we saw the conclusions of a brilliant athlete

Danny Borszewski

18/07/2022

Monday, July 18, 2022, 8:30 p.m.

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We ticked off: Today's summary clip, 18.7 (Sports 1)

One of the most beautiful things about sports is that there are so many types of athletes.

Those who feed off of being at the forefront of the stage, those who prefer to be out of the spotlight and surprise, those who lead and those who complement.

And how does this relate to Luna Chamtai Salpeter?

She has a bit of everything, and she had to taste everything so that for the first time she could connect the pieces of the puzzle to a successful marathon as part of a world championship or the Olympic Games.

We will not, of course, ignore the fact that in March 2020 she became the sixth all-time marathon runner in terms of result after winning the Tokyo Marathon, just before the world closed.

Until the Corona period and in the two years before that, she broke all Israeli records in long-distance running and also won the European Championships in the 10,000 meters, but in the World Championships and the Olympic Games - something always went wrong.

An exciting moment.

Chamtai Salpeter (Photo: GettyImages, Carmen Mandato)

What’s more, even when she ran a marathon for the first time in her life in Tiberias, she was forced to retire because of a cold snap.

Later, and more important marathons also had heat stroke, pain as a result of breastfeeding, menstrual cramps and various and varied reasons to retire from marathons or lower the pace significantly.

It could be that for all these reasons there was a strong desire of her, as the one who became the big star of Israeli athletics, to be at the forefront of the world stage.

This means that in marathons like the 2019 Doha World Championships or the Tokyo Olympics, she has decided to press the pedal all the way and go “all in” in front of the best runners in the world.

But in a marathon, if you went "all in" in front of someone on a given day enough to be half a minute better than you - you can definitely finish the game very quickly.

We have seen this happen even today to two Ethiopian runners and two Kenyans, including 2019 world champion Ruth Chepengtic.

And again, one of the most beautiful things in sports and life in general is learning from mistakes and really applying it.

What we saw today on the track in Oregon was entirely the tuition of a brilliant runner, who may have realized she was not the best in the world, but she could take advantage of others' mistakes to reach the top.

And today, even before the half-distance, Salpter realized that she was not in a position to compete for first place and did the smartest thing - to take a few steps back and create her own stick together with the Eritrean Nazar Waldo.

She may have realized that Luna Salpeter of the summer of 2022 is a little different from Luna Salpeter of two-three years before.

Let’s start with the fact that in the last two years her fast marathons have been in the 2:18:45 hrs zone compared to 2:17:45 hrs in Tokyo in early 2020. Maybe it has to do with her age (33) and maybe there is also a mental interest after in Tokyo she has already seen the medal but the body Refused to continue.

Quite a few things happened to her that could have completely taken her spirit out of the sails, but instead of lowering her head she just knew how to slow down in time - the most important thing marathoners need to know to do.

To this day she knew how to be fast, train hard, become a star in the road racing world, but release she knew less.

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A lot of emotion came out of her.

Chamtai Salpeter (Photo: GettyImages, Carmen Mandato)

She finished the marathon with a slightly slower result than two hours and 20 minutes which makes total sense, because on the one hand the Eugene track is flat and fast and the weather conditions were reasonable, and on the other hand it consists of three laps and included sharp turns that take a few tens of seconds each lap.

If Marrow Teferi, who is perhaps the most calculated runner in the country, was a little more than a minute slower than his personal best in the men's marathon yesterday, that's exactly what Salpeter did today compared to her year result, what she's worth and can achieve in her current fitness.

So if you are trying to compare Salpeter's result today to a personal high, it will be unnecessary.

Today, perhaps precisely when she is a little beyond her peak (just maybe), she has managed to produce the brilliant run of her life.

Maybe in that marathon in Tokyo she was faster, but there is a difference between being at the top and winning a respectable marathon two or three runs that were at her level, and collecting all the fragments of the unsuccessful runs to pay one big and perfect in an event that is considered more respectable. Probably happened the first time, and definitely gives a taste of more.

Also ahead of the next World Championships and maybe even ahead of the Paris Olympics, so she will be 35 and maybe learn a thing or two more along the way.

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