Swimmer Alon Mandel breaks nat'l record at Olympics, fails to reach semis

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Israeli swimmer Alon Mandel broke a national record in the 200m. butterfly heats at the Olympics on Monday with a time of 1:59:27 minutes, finishing in fourth position. Last Thursday, the 20-year-old vowed to remain at the Games despite finding out early that morning that his father, Kostya, 51, had died after falling off a ladder in the garden of his Netanya home. Mandel said he intended to compete for his father. Mandel's mother, Rina, and his sister, Maya, were in the stands at Beijing's Nation Aquatics Center for Monday's race. Despite his achievement, Mandel failed to reach the semi finals.