Tiktekno: clip summarizing today's events in sports, 15.4/Sport1
Buyers who entered the Asics brand store in the TLV mall in central Tel Aviv in recent days were surprised to discover that one of the salesmen who helps them choose the shoes is none other than the legendary Alex Aberbuch. The 49-year-old pole vaulter, who was vice world champion and three-time European champion, has been working for a month and a half for his living as a shop assistant. Averbuch was not surprised by the phone call he received this evening (Monday) after he said quite a few people who enter the store are amazed to see him there.
"Yes, I used to buy a lot of shoes, today I sell shoes," Abruch told Walla Sport. "I have nothing to be embarrassed about, this is a living. Unfortunately, an athletics coach in Israel cannot make a living from this alone. I work at a club in Kfar Saba and I also have young athletes in Netanya, but you can't rely solely on that, so about a month and a half ago I turned to good people, because there More good people in the country, and I asked them to help me with additional work. I don't know how long I will do it, but I started as an intern to learn the work and I take it seriously, as I took everything I did in life.
Ian Israel continued: "Unfortunately, not only me As an athletics coach, he cannot work in this state. There are other coaches in the field who are forced to do additional work. There is nothing to be ashamed of, there is a house, there is a livelihood that needs to be brought in and at least there are people who made sure that I would have another job. If I remember correctly, when I was world runner-up in Edmonton, I jumped with Asics. So here today I work in their store."
Aberbuch asked to address another matter and said: "What pains me is that recently the Athletics Association purchased 50 vaulting poles for the benefit of the European Under-20 Championships held in Israel. I asked that after the championships some of the poles be transferred to me for use by the association in Kfar Saba. I thought that if you want to develop the sport in Israel, no The rods should be kept only in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, especially since I am one of those who put this branch on the map in Israel, so I believed that they would help me with the rods purchased from the public funds. Unfortunately, I did not receive the rods and I do not understand the explanations given to me."
The CEO of the Athletics Association, Gal Levy, said in response to Aberbuch's words: "We have indeed purchased a lot of equipment for the benefit of the recent European Championships and also for the Grand Slam next month. An equipment committee in the athletics union that met determined that the poles will remain in the stadiums used by the athletics union. That is why the poles are and exist for the use of the athletes in Hadar Yosef and Givat Ram in Jerusalem. Those who are interested and want to, can use these rods. The committee determined that they do not leave these stadiums and are not distributed throughout the country. With all due respect to Alex and what he has done in the past, he has received quite a bit of assistance from the union in his various positions and in the associations in which he works. In this case, it was decided that the poles do not leave the stadiums."