Nevo wins historic medal at NCAA swimming championships

22-year-old wins silver medal in the 400m individual on Friday while swimming for Georgia Tech.

By JEREMY LAST
gal nevo 88 (photo credit: Courtesy)
gal nevo 88
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Gal Nevo became the first Israeli in 20 years to win a medal at the NCAA swimming championships when he came second in the 400m individual medley on Friday. The 22-year-old won the silver medal on Friday with a time of 3:38:00 while swimming for Georgia Tech. He also broke his own school record which he set at last month's conference championship by three seconds. A day earlier he came fourth for the Yellow Jackets in the 200-IM, finishing in 1:42.79, breaking another school record. Nevo swam for Israel at the Beijing Olympics last summer, where he set national records in both events, reaching the semifinals of the 200-IM. His fourth place ensured him All American accolades, the first Georgia Tech swimmer to receive this honor for four years. Israel Swimming Association chairman Noam Zvi, who traveled to the US to watch the Israelis in action, said he was extremely proud achievements. "Gal Nevo proved that Israeli swimming is no longer satisfied only with semifinals and finals but the aim is to win medals and this is entirely possible. The standard of the college championships is higher than that of the European championships and Nevo's results are simply great. I am happy that I was able to be at the pool at this historic moment for Israeli swimming. There is no doubt we are closing the gap on the rest of the world."