Sportsאלכס אברבוך

Aleksandr Averbukh

Alex Averbukh is a Russian-born Israeli pole vaulter who was European champion in 2002 and 2006 and won medals at the World Championships.

born 1974European pole vault titlesIsrael's first world championship medalIsraeli pole vault record

Born: 1 October 1974, Irkutsk
Occupation: pole vaulter, athletics competitor
Party: Likud

Aleksandr Averbukh was born in 1974 in Irkutsk

Averbukh was born on October 1, 1974, in Irkutsk, Siberia, in the Soviet Union, and is Jewish. He began training in the pole vault at age 9. He competed for Russia as a decathlete and won bronze in the decathlon at the 1997 European under-23 championships.

He worked as a school sports teacher, then moved to Israel and became a citizen. In 1999 he won bronze at the World Championships in Seville, the first world championship medal for an Israeli athlete. He won silver at the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton.

He became European champion in Munich in 2002 and defended the title in Gothenburg in 2006. He set the Israeli record of 5.93 meters in Madrid in 2003. He reached the Olympic final in Sydney and Athens, and competed in Beijing in 2008.

In 2008 he became head of athletics at Maccabi Tel Aviv, and he retired in 2009. He returned briefly to win gold at the 2013 Maccabiah Games. In 2013 he was elected to the Netanya city council, and in 2019 he joined Likud.

He is married to Natalia and they have 3 daughters, including the model Anastasya Averbukh. He lives in Tel Aviv.