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

Israeli swimmer Anastasia Gorbunko is set to compete in the 200-meter individual medley final at the European Championships this Saturday evening at 19:47, aiming to defend her title and win her fourth European gold in this event. Gorbunko, who will swim in lane six, previously won the European long-course championships in this event in Budapest 2021, Rome 2022, and Belgrade 2024. She qualified for the final in fourth place with a time of 2:11.14 minutes, having led the heats with 2:11.87 minutes. Her personal best is 2:08.55, set in 2024 at the Mare Nostrum series in Barcelona.

Among her main rivals is British swimmer 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 16-year-old British swimmer Emily Smith, 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 Russ Anautardijk (2:12.07). Walsh previously won silver ahead of Gorbunko at the short-course European Championships last year. Besides the 200m individual medley final, Gorbunko will also compete in the 50m breaststroke semifinals later in the evening, having qualified 14th.

The event will be broadcast live on 5MAX, with high expectations from Gorbunko and her coaching team for another gold medal and the playing of the Israeli national anthem at the podium.