Anastasia Gorbenko Named Captain of Louisville Swim Team

Anastasia Gorbenko, Israel's top Olympic swimmer from Maccabi Kiryat Bialik, is set to begin her second season with the University of Louisville's swim team in Kentucky next Thursday. This year, Gorbenko will serve as captain of the 23-member Louisville squad, a step up from her previous season.

Louisville will participate in the newly established College Swimming League (CSL) in the United States, a privately funded league featuring the top 12 collegiate teams. The CSL aims to increase spectator interest through a "show" format, with competitions scheduled to conclude by November 7th. Gorbenko will compete in two preliminary rounds, with successful teams advancing to the semi-finals and finals.

Participation in the CSL is in addition to Gorbenko's commitments with the University of Louisville team, which ranked 8th in the NCAA last season. "I am entering a very busy, interesting, and especially challenging period. I really love to compete and I am very excited," Gorbenko stated. "Competitions do me good. I learn from every start, and in previous years, during seasons when I competed a lot, I succeeded in target competitions. Alongside the workload in the pool, my academic program will also be very demanding, and the challenge is to optimally balance studies and swimming."

In December, Gorbenko is scheduled to compete in the World Short Course Championships in Beijing. She previously won gold medals in Abu Dhabi in 2021 for the 50m breaststroke and 100m individual medley. Following the China competition, she plans to return to Israel for the Israeli Winter Championships. During her academic break and between these championships, she will join the Louisville team for a special training camp in Florida.