Esther Roth-Shahamorov

Esther Roth-Shahamorov was born in 1952 in Tel Aviv

Esther Shahamorov was born in Tel Aviv on April 16, 1952, to Bukharian Jewish parents. She grew up in the Kiryat Shalom neighborhood. At 14 she began training at Hapoel Tel Aviv under coach Amitzur Shapira.

She competed in sprints, hurdles, the long jump and the pentathlon, and once held 5 Israeli records at the same time. At the 1970 Asian Games in Bangkok she won gold in the 100m hurdles and the pentathlon and silver in the long jump. In 1974 in Tehran she won gold in the 100m, the 200m and the 100m hurdles.

At the 1972 Munich Olympics she set an Israeli 100m record of 11.45 seconds and reached the hurdles semifinal. She withdrew with the Israeli team after terrorists murdered Shapira and 10 other team members. At the 1976 Montreal Olympics she carried the Israeli flag and finished 6th in the 100m hurdles final.

In 1973 she married gymnast Peter Roth, who became her coach, and they have a son and a daughter. After retiring she worked as a sports teacher. She received the Israel Prize in 1999 and had a kidney transplant in February 2024.