Darya Golovati and Alexei Glibinsky emerged as the winners of the first Tel Aviv Sprint Sea competition, held Thursday morning in the harbor basin of Tel Aviv Port. The event was described as the world’s first professional sprint swimming competition of its kind, bringing together 96 of Israel’s fastest male and female swimmers in knockout heats watched by hundreds of spectators.
In the women’s race, Golovati of Hapoel Bat Yam delivered a flawless run, winning every heat she entered from the round of 16 through the final and leaving no doubt about who is the fastest swimmer in Israel. She finished ahead of Shani Goland of Maccabi Haifa in second place and Aviv Barzeli of Maccabi Haifa in third.
Golovati is already one of Israel’s leading swimmers. She won the European title in the women’s 4x200-meter freestyle relay in Belgrade in 2024 and represented Israel at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The men’s competition was also intense, with the article describing drama and VAR involvement before Glibinsky secured the title. The event, covered by Sport 5 and photographed by Erez Artzstein, was attended by figures including Israel Swimming Association chairman Hagai Ashlagi, Tel Aviv-Yafo deputy mayor Tzipi Brand, and Tel Aviv Port CEO Lior Levi.
