Israel's Olympic triple jumper, who belongs to the Maccabi Haifa Association, will participate this summer in the Tokyo Olympics, which will be her third Olympics. The Israeli champion in an interview with Lahi Fe, about the preparations for the Olympics and the sponsorship agreement she concluded this week with the Shamir Optica company, worth 130,000 NIS.
Hana Kanzieva Minnenko, one of Israel's greatest hopes in the field of athletics and in the Israeli delegation that will go to Tokyo in general, is preparing for the biggest sporting event of the year. In Hana's resume, you can find the runners-up of the World Championships (Beijing 2015), the runners-up of the European Championships (Amsterdam 2016), third place in the European Indoor Championships (Prague 2015) and fourth place in the World Championships (London 2017). Hana is the Israeli champion and also holds the Israeli record in the long jump. She also participated in two Olympics, the first in London 2012, she also represented Ukraine, her country of origin and finished fourth, in Rio in 2016, when she already represented Israel and finished fifth. In the current Olympics, Hana is aiming higher and optimistic about winning a medal for the first time.
The green athlete is recovering from a serious injury, after breaking her leg last year during a national competition. Since the injury, she has focused every day on recovery while doing intensive training in the gym, light jogging and, of course, physical therapy.
Hana lives in Tel Aviv, but for the third season she belongs to the Maccabi Haifa Association, where she trains and competes in national competitions. Hana talks about her connection to Haifa and belonging to the Green Club:
I live in the center, but I always enjoy coming to Haifa and training there, the association is like a family despite the distance, and my physiotherapist Mia Kala Benzur, who does wonderful work with me, is also from Haifa.
This week, the athlete signed a sponsorship agreement with Shamir Optics Industries Ltd, the largest manufacturer of eyeglass lenses in Israel. The value of the sponsorship for 2020 is estimated at NIS 130,000.
For Hana, who uses glasses and contact lenses on a daily basis, the signing with the optics company is a natural connection and not just a sponsor that will support and finance her for the Olympics:
I am very proud to be a part of the Shamir Optics family, it is one of the leading optics companies in the world in the development and production of lenses, good vision is a very important part both in life and in the competition and that is why I am also very attached to it.
CEO of Shamir Optica, Yagan Moshe, He said during the signing of the sponsorship agreement:
We believe in Minenko's ability to achieve the criterion for the 2020 Tokyo Games, and consider her a loyal ambassador of Israel and Shamir Optica. Beyond the monthly financial support, we will make sure to equip the athlete with the best of our sports products, which include EYRES sports glasses for training, contact lenses for competitions, ophthalmic lenses with anti-vapor coating.
Yagan Moshe added: "With Hana's help, we hope to raise awareness of the need for eye exams for the general public with the slogan: " Seeing 20/20 in Tokyo 2020", or in a free translation: see 6/6 (20/20) at the Tokyo Games - 2020".
The Shamir Optica company itself is facing Tokyo and will soon open another international laboratory in the Japanese city. The Israeli company employs over 2000 people in Israel and around the world, in 28 subsidiaries - of which 17 are production sites, and is ranked among the top five companies in the world in its field, and this is mainly thanks to an innovative R&D center located at the company's headquarters in Kibbutz Shamir in the Upper Galilee. Shamir also supports the Hapoel basketball team Shamir Optica Upper Galil playing in the National League.
Hana spoke about the preparations and expectations for a medal at the Summer Olympics:
I want to go as far as possible in Tokyo, I'm doing it STEP BY STEP, I first want to get stronger to arrive ready and in top shape for the Olympics. I'm an optimistic person by nature, so I don't think about failure at all and for me, the sky is the limit.