August 5, 2012

JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Israeli sprinter lost his bid to make the semifinals in the Olympic 400m dash after his shoes were stolen.

Donald Sanford failed to qualify for the 400m after running Saturday in borrowed shoes.

He argued with the judges prior to the race in order to get more time in order to put on a pair of loaner shoes, missing an opportunity to warm up before the race, according to reports.

Sanford finished fifth in his heat with a time of 45.71 seconds, his best this season. But he told Israeli media that he could have run faster in his own shoes, which he said were stolen.

American-born Sanford’s connection to Israel began at Arizona State University, where he met a fellow student named Danielle Dekel, the kibbutznik who would become his wife. Raised in an athletic family — his brother played college football and his sister professional basketball in Europe — he was pursuing a track career at the university.

Sanford married Dekel in 2008 and now lives half the year on her family’s kibbutz, Ein Shemer, on Israel’s northern coast, spending the rest of the year in Arizona. He has an Israeli passport and in March was given permission to compete on behalf of Israel.
 

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