Israeli wins first ever gold at European swimming championships

Setting a personal record of 24.73 seconds, Israeli swimmer Jonathan Koplev won the gold medal in the men’s 50-meter backstroke at the European swimming championships in Debrecen on Thursday.

Fellow Israeli Guy Barnea took the bronze medal with a time of 25.15 seconds. Italian Mirco Di Tora won the silver medal.

With his victory, Koplev became the first Israeli to hold a European swimming championships title.