Nevo is no longer the unchallenged star of Israeli swimming following the recent breakthrough of Yakov Toumarkin, but he remains the delegation’s best hope of reaching a final at the Aquatics Centre in London.
The 25-year-old Kibbutz Hamadia native has won medals at European Championships and reached finals at the worlds, but there is one accomplishment still missing from his resume.
To date, only one Israeli has participated in a final at the Olympics in an individual swimming event, with Eitan Urbach making the 100-meter backstroke final in the 2000 Sydney Games.
Nevo has every chance to become the second after finishing the 200m and 400m Individual Medley competitions in 13th and 11th places, respectively, in the Beijing Games four years ago.
It is a testament to Nevo’s consistent success in recent years that he was bitterly disappointed at ending both the 200m and 400m IM in fourth place at the recent Europeans in May.
Nevo’s talent is undoubted and the experience he picked up in Beijing will be invaluable this summer.
He may not overshadow the rest of the Israeli swimming team the way he used to in the past, but he remains the country’s top prospect to make history in the pool in London.