While the war in Iraq dominated the news for quite some time, most of our lives were not directly affected. We went to school, saw friends and did what we always did-life went on as usual. However, for Chen Yahav '07, who is from Israel, a big part of her life was put on hold.
At the time, Yahav, a successful runner, was enrolled in a special program for athletes in the Israeli Defense Force. Under normal circumstances, young adults admitted to the program complete their army requirements by serving only six hours per day in non-combat duties, after which they go to practice. But when war broke out Iraq, the athletes in the army were required to be on base 24 hours a day and did not have the opportunity to train for their sports. Yahav was not able to run for over a year, but once out of the army she looked to return to her sport-this time, in America.
A large number of Israeli athletes apply to Division I schools in the United States. But Yahav, encouraged by her family, fell in love with Brandeis.
"When I visited, I met with the coach and loved him," Yahav said. "He's very nice."
Yahav followed Coach Mark Reytblat's advice and took the necessary tests to get in.
"He's the reason I'm here," she says.
Running at Brandeis is different from in Israel.
"The facilities here are better than the ones at home because of the economic situation," Yahav observes. "Also, there is only outdoor track which starts in May because of the weather-we don't have winter [in Israel]."
While in Israel, Yahav competed when she was 12 and 16 in the Twin Cities Olympics between Boston and Haifa (there are 42 pairs of "twin cities" around the world which hold competitions with each other every four years). She also competed in the nation wide Israeli Championships, winning first place in the "under 19" age group and third place in the "all ages" category.
Now, at Brandeis, Yahav lends her skills to the women's track team. Her first place finish in the 400-meter hurdles helped Brandeis to place second at the Silfen Invitational at Connecticut College on April 17. However, the team didn't do as well at this past weekend's UAA Track and Field Championships, where Yahav placed eighth out of 13 in the 400-meter hurdles preliminary and eighth in the finals, 10th out of 18 in the long jump and sixth in the 1600-meter relay with teammates Remy Coyle '07, Katie Schill '05 and Megan Bisceglia '07.
"I hope to do better next year," Yahav says, "It's hard to adjust because I am a midyear and I haven't practiced for a while [due to the war in Iraq], but my team helps me a lot. It's hard to come without family or friends, and [my teammates] make me feel a part of them."
This summer Yahav plans to participate in the Israeli season and to compete in this year's Israeli Championships in July.