Shaul Ladany

Shaul Paul Ladany
Shaul Ladany (center), winner of 10-km walk, on podium during 8th Maccabiah Games at Ramat Gan Stadium (1969)
Personal information
Native nameשאול לדני
NationalityIsraeli
CitizenshipIsraeli
Born (1936-04-02) April 2, 1936
Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Home townOmer, Israel
Education
Occupation(s)Professor emeritus of industrial engineering and management
EmployerBen-Gurion University of the Negev
Height5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight148 lb (67 kg)
Sport
SportRacewalking
Achievements and titles
World finalsGold medal in 100-km walk at 1972 World Championships (9:31:00)
National finalsNational Championships: 28 Israeli, 6 U.S., 2 Belgian, 1 Swiss, and 1 South African.
Highest world ranking
  • World record in 50-mile walk (7:23:50; 1972–present)
  • Israeli national record in 50-km walk (4:17:06; 1972–present)
Personal best50-km walk: 4:17:06 (1972)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Israel
Olympic Games
Pierre de Coubertin medal2007
Maccabiah Games
Israel 19693-km walk
Israel 196910-km walk
Israel 196950-km walk
Israel 197320-km walk
Israel 197350-km walk
Updated on February 24, 2013

Shaul Paul Ladany (Hebrew: שאול לדני; born April 2, 1936) is an Israeli Holocaust survivor, racewalker and two-time Olympian. He holds the world record in the 50-mile walk (7:23:50), and the Israeli national record in the 50-kilometer walk (4:17:07). He is a former world champion in the 100-kilometer walk.

Ladany survived the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1944, when he was eight years old. In 1972, he survived the Munich Massacre. He is now a Professor of Industrial Engineering and Management at Ben Gurion University, has authored over a dozen books and 120 scholarly papers, and reportedly speaks nine languages. He lives in Omer, Israel.

Asked if it would be fair to call him the ultimate survivor, Ladany laughed and answered: "I don't know about that. What I can say is that in my life there has never been a dull moment."