Israeli swimmer eliminated in semifinals
Amit Ivri set new national record in the qualifying heat, sharpshooter barely misses finals
Aaron Kalman is a former writer and breaking news editor for the Times of Israel
Swimmer Amit Ivri was eliminated from the 200 meter medley at the London Games on Monday evening, after failing to make it to the final eight in the category.
Earlier on Monday, judoka Soso Palelashvili was eliminated from competition at the third round, while sharpshooter Sergy Rikhter missed a berth in the finals by a mere one point.
Ivri swam the 200 meter individual medley and advanced to the semifinals in the morning. She had a strong performance, possibly the best by an Israeli swimmer so far, improving the Israeli record by half a second with a result of 2:13.29 minutes. In the semifinals she stopped the clock after 2:13.31 minutes, almost three seconds behind the eight ticket to the finals. She finished sixth in her heat and 13th overall.
Gal Nevo won his 200 meter butterfly qualifying heat with a time of 1:59.98, a result which placed him in 32nd overall.
The 25-year-old judoka Palelashvili was eliminated by Japanese World Champion Nakaya Riki in the octo-finals. In the previous round the first-time Olympian beat Turkish opponent Huysuz Sezer on his way to the final 16 in his weight category.
Rikhter finished the qualifying round in the 10 meter air rifle shooting contest with 595 points out of a possible 600. He finished in ninth place and missed a place in the final eight by a mere one point.
Rikhter shares the junior world record and was the first Israeli to guarantee his place at London. The 23-year-old stepped on the podium in every important competition in recent years, and had hoped to win his first Olympic medal but lost to more experienced competitors.
Nofar Edelman started Israel’s medal quest at sea. The young sailor, who competes in the Lasor Radial category, placed 33rd after her first two races.
