Samuel, Israel's top rower who trains at the Daniel Rowing Centre in Tel Aviv, crossed the 2,000m finish line in a new Israeli best time at 11:20.81 minutes.
Birgit Skarstein (23) of Norway won the gold, taking the world champion title from Samuel, who has been the champion since 2015. The two mighty paralympic rowers, bitter rivals on the course, are also close friends, and Skarstein came to the Tel Aviv last year for training together with Samuel.
Samuel, 35, said: "I'm thrilled to once again represent Israel successfully, and return home with a medal.
“Doubling the course length from 1,000 to 2,000 metres set the ground for a tough struggle, demanding extreme endurance. We have the time till Tokyo 2020 to learn the best strategies for this new distance. Although my titled was snatched, I'm happy with the result – it's time to celebrate."
Israel's premier Olympic rower, Dani Fridman, finished 25th in the Men's single scull. Israel's Paralympic quad boat participated in the heats, was due to progress to the finals, but had to withdraw, because the race was held on Yom Kippur.
