Olympic swimmer Anya Gostomelsky broke an Israeli record on Friday when she completed the eighth heat of the 50-meter freestyle preliminaries in 25.23 seconds.
Though Gostomelsky came in first in the heat, she did not qualify for the semifinals, falling 16 milliseconds short of the 16th spot in the contest.
"I'm very pleased, not only with myself but with the whole team. We were the most brilliant team here," Gostomelsky said.
A Syrian swimmer who was due to use the lane next to Gostomelsky in the 50m swim opted to stay out of the contest.
Gostomelsky said of the pullout: "I didn't notice that the lane beside me was empty. It's her problem."
