A different type of hasbarah

Israeli athletes have excelled in Judo, wind surfing, pole vaulting, sailing, boxing and now…stair climbing.

Yes, it’s true. From a country that has about four skyscrapers, three athletes have shown that citizens from their little oasis of democracy can climb stairs as fast as anyone else.

Dan and Ran Alterman, 24-year-old identical twins from Even Yehudah, finished the men’s heat of the annual Bank of America Empire State Building Run-Up in third and fourth places respectively, overcoming recent bouts with the flu to place in the competition’s top four for the second year in a row.

Svetlana Bahmend, 28, a first-time competitor from Tel Aviv, finished fourth among the women.

The fact that they were showing a different side of Israel wasn’t lost on them.

It was really important for us to come here to show a different side of Israel, Ran said during a Manhattan luncheon of the Track Writers’ Association of Metro New York on Monday, the day before the race. “To show that it’s not just tanks and guns. To show that Israelis are good at sports, not just fighting.””

The two brothers are Israel’s best triathletes and hope to represent Israel in Beijing in 2008.

Tags: stair climbing