Reuven Helman (; 1927 – July 11, 2013) was a former
Maccabiah Olympian recognized as a weightlifting champion, distinguished athlete in
Track and Field
Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
,
the
Decathlon
The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of 10 track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄ ...
and for his career as an athletic instructor.
He competed in
shot-put
The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival (1896), and women's competition be ...
and
javelin
A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon. Today, the javelin is predominantly used for sporting purposes such as the javelin throw. The javelin is nearly always thrown by hand, unlike the sling ...
. Helman came in second in 1957 in the International Maccabiah Games in Tel Aviv, and had also competed in 1953.
Personal life
Helman became an adherent of the
Chabad Lubavitch
Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a Hasidic dynasty, dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi Judaism, Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasi ...
Movement after visiting its spiritual head, Rabbi
Menachem M. Schnerson.
He attributed his strength to
kosher
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, ), from the Ashke ...
eating, clean living and exercise.
Military service
Helman fought in
Israeli's 1948 war of independence and was dubbed the “human cannon” for his ability to fling
grenades
A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade g ...
over 75 meters when army supplies were short.
He also received a
war medal for his service in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
See also
*
List of select Jewish weightlifters
References
External links
Photos of Helman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helman, Reuven
2013 deaths
1927 births
Jewish weightlifters
Sportspeople from Tel Aviv
Jewish track and field athletes
Israeli soldiers
Maccabiah Games silver medalists for Israel
Israeli male athletes
Maccabiah Games medalists in athletics
Israeli military personnel of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War
Mandatory Palestine military personnel of World War II
20th-century Israeli sportsmen