Swimming: Toumarkin takes two medals at Junior Euros

18-year-old wins a bronze and a gold in Helsinki.

By ALLON SINAI
Yakov Toumarkin (photo credit: Israel Swimming Association)
Yakov Toumarkin
(photo credit: Israel Swimming Association)
Yakov Toumarkin cemented his place as the future of local swimming on Saturday, becoming the fourth Israeli to win two medals at the European Junior Swimming Championships.
The 18-year-old clocked a time of 2:01.14 minutes to take a bronze medal in the 200- meter backstroke final in Helsinki, Finland, two days after winning a gold in the 100m backstroke.
Toumarkin joins Adi Bichman (1999), Vered Borochovsky (2000) and Nimrod Shapria Bar-Or (2007) as the only Israelis to win two medals at a single European Junior Swimming Championships.
Toumarkin nearly became the first Israeli to win three medals at the event, but was disqualified for an illegal turn after finishing third in the 200m Individual Medley final on Friday.
Also Saturday, Israel’s Nicol Samsonyk finished sixth in the women’s 50m freestyle final in a time of 26.45s.