Anastasia Gorbunko Aims for Fourth European Title in 200m Individual Medley Final

Israeli swimmer Anastasia Gorbunko is set to compete in the final of the 200-meter individual medley at the European Championships this Saturday evening at 19:47, aiming to defend her title and win her fourth career gold in this event. Gorbunko, the reigning European champion from Budapest 2021, Rome 2022, and Belgrade 2024, qualified for the final in sixth lane after finishing fourth in the semifinals with a time of 2:11.14. She had previously led the heats with 2:11.87. Her personal best is 2:08.55, set in 2024 at the Mare Nostrum series in Barcelona.

Among her main rivals is Britain's Abbie Wood, 27, who qualified first for the final with 2:09.99 and holds a personal best of 2:08.17. Wood and Gorbunko previously shared the podium at the 2021 European Championships, where Gorbunko took gold and Wood silver. Other contenders include Spain's Alba Vázquez Ruiz, who qualified second with a personal best of 2:10.87, and Britain's Emily Smith, 16, who qualified third with 2:11.12 and is seen as a rising star.

Additional finalists include Italy's Anita Gastaldi (2:11.21), Poland's Justyna Kozan (2:11.19), Ireland's Ellen Walsh (2:11.26), and Belgium's Rus Anautardijk (2:12.07). Walsh previously won silver ahead of Gorbunko at the 2023 European Short Course Championships. Besides the 200m individual medley final, Gorbunko will also compete in the 50m breaststroke semifinals later in the evening, where she qualified 14th.

The event will be broadcast live on 5MAX, with expectations high for Gorbunko to add another gold medal to her decorated career and hear the Israeli national anthem played once again at the top of the podium.