Israel’s Gal Nevo takes silver at European swimming finals
2-time Olympian wins country's first medal in the championships, where a record number of Israeli athletes are competing
Israeli swimmer Gal Nevo took home the silver medal at the European Championships in London on Wednesday, in top form only three months before what is expected to be the 28-year-old’s last Olympic appearance in the Rio de Janeiro Games.
Nevo completed the 200-meter individual medley in 1:59.69 minutes, narrowly losing the gold to Greece’s Andreas Vazaios, who completed the heat in 1:58.18 minutes.
It was the first medal at the competition for Israel, which sent its largest-ever team to the European Championships. The 2016 roster included 27 swimmers — four women and 23 men.
Along with five other Israeli swimmers, Nevo has already qualified for the Olympic Games set to take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August. Nevo, Yaakov Toumarkin, Ziv Kalontarov, Andrea Moraz, Amit Ivry, and Zohar Shikler have all secured a spot on the Olympic team.
The men’s team will compete in a 400-meter individual medley relay in London later this week.
A two-time Olympian, Nevo holds three Israeli records for the 200- and 400-meter individual medleys as well for the 200-meter butterfly event.