Tel Aviv Port will host “Sprint-Sea Tel Aviv” on Friday morning, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., with live coverage on 5SPORT and free entry for the public. The race will take place inside the port’s marina in natural seawater, but under calm, stable conditions meant to resemble a swimming pool.
The event is an initiative of the Israel Swimming Association, together with Tel Aviv Port and the Tel Aviv-Yafo municipal sports authority. It will bring together the top tier of Israeli swimming, with 48 of the country’s fastest men and 48 of its fastest women, including national-team swimmers and Olympians. The competition will use a knockout sprint format over 50 meters for men and women, starting with the round of 16 and continuing through quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. Only the top three in each stage advance, and the winners will receive cash prizes.
Among the participants are Israeli national-team swimmers Daria Golovaty, Anya Gostmelbsky, Aviv Barzilai, Miron Khayuti, Denis Loktev, Alexey Glivinsky, Itan Ben-Shitrit, Michael Leitrovsky and Martin Kartabbi. Olympic swimmer Miron Khayuti said the race was an important first: “This kind of competition has never existed before, and I am happy that the swimming association is taking this step that will bring a lot of exposure to the sport.” He added that it is the first event of its kind in the world and may be copied elsewhere.
Swimming Association chairman Hagai Elshigi called it a global innovation and said the public should come to see Israel’s best swimmers compete head to head in an open-air urban marina. Deputy Tel Aviv-Yafo mayor Lior Shapira said the city sees the event as part of its push to position Tel Aviv as an international stage for innovative sports. Organizers also hope future editions will include swimmers from abroad.
