Israel’s cadet swimming team ended the Comen Championships in Serbia with an outstanding 11-medal haul, 4 gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze. The Comen, the Mediterranean countries’ swimming federation, stages an annual youth event for swimmers from around the Mediterranean and serves as Israel’s main target meet for the year.
The team opened with medals on day one, when Inbar Yuskovitz Levari of Maccabi A.S. Ramat HaSharon took bronze in the 100m freestyle in 51.63 seconds. Later that evening, Shaun Pumberg of Maccabi Kiryat Bialik won Israel’s first gold in the 400m freestyle in 4:00.67, and the 4x100m freestyle relay, Yoni Dagan, Tomer Rosner, Uri Nissim and Yuskovitz, added bronze in 3:27.01.
On day two, Mark Sagalovitch of Hapoel Bat Yam earned silver in the 100m breaststroke with a personal best of 1:04.47, and Rosner took bronze in the 100m butterfly with a personal best of 55.44. Israel’s 4x200m freestyle relay, Yuskovitz Levari, Dagan, Pumberg and Rosner, won the team’s second gold, while the 4x100m medley relay, Michael Bakhar, Sagalovitch, Rosner and Dagan, took silver.
On the final day, Dagan won silver in the 200m freestyle in 1:53.39, Pumberg claimed his third gold in the 1500m freestyle in 15:45.71, and Dagan closed the meet with Israel’s fourth gold in the 200m individual medley in 2:03.85, also a personal best. The women also delivered strong results, with Michal Ognitz of Hapoel Beit Shemesh setting two new Israeli age-14 records and finishing fourth in both the 100m freestyle and 50m freestyle, and Maayan Graur of Maccabi Haifa placing fifth in the 200m individual medley.
Israel finished third overall in the team standings, behind Italy and Turkey and ahead of France. In the event’s top points rankings, Pumberg led the boys with 780 points, while Dor Weiss of TLV SWIM was sixth with 758 in the 1500m freestyle and Dagan eighth with 753 in the 200m individual medley. Coach Pavel Pessin said the swimmers had shown they are “the next generation” of Israeli swimming, adding that hearing “Hatikvah” four times and seeing the Israeli flag raised was deeply moving.
