The main event of the championships, which will end on Saturday, will be the men's 200m freestyle race.
By ALLON SINAI
Michael Dmitriev and Olga Beresneva won the first two events of the Israeli Swimming Championships on Tuesday at the Wingate Institute.
Dmitriev claimed the gold medal in the 800 meter freestyle race, clocking a time of 8:13.92 minutes. Amir Arbel and Ilan Bronfman finished more than half a minute behind the winner, winning silver and bronze respectively.
Beresneva took the women's 1,500m title, touching the wall after 17:48.53m. Gal For and Ra'am Gabriel finished in second and third place.
The main event of the championships, which will end on Saturday, will be the men's 200m freestyle race.
Nimrod Shapria Bar-Or came within four hundredths of a second of meeting the Olympic criteria last week, setting a new Israeli record time of 1:48.76m in the 200m freestyle.
On Friday, he will have one last chance to improve his record by the four hundredths of a second he requires and join the Israeli delegation two weeks before the start of the Beijing Games.
On Tuesday, Bar-Or finished the first 200 meters of the 800m race 15 hundredths shy of the criteria.
Israel's other Olympic swimmers will also take part in the championships as part of their preparations for the Games.
Also Tuesday, Max Jaben, who has been suspended from the Israeli Olympic team after failing a drugs test, pleaded his innocence at an Israeli Swimming Association tribunal.
The decision on his punishment is expected in the coming days.
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