Swimming: Nevo falls just short in Hungary

Israeli finishes men’s 200-meter Individual Medley final in fourth place at the European Championships in Debrecen, Hungary.

By ALLON SINAI
GAL NEVO 311 (photo credit: FIsrael Swimming Association)
GAL NEVO 311
(photo credit: FIsrael Swimming Association)
Gal Nevo came tantalizingly close to winning his second continental medal on Wednesday, finishing the men’s 200-meter Individual Medley final in fourth place at the European Championships in Debrecen, Hungary.
The 24-year-old clocked a time of 1:59.74 minutes, 35 hundredths of a second behind bronze medalist Markus Rogan.
Nevo will now set his sights on scaling the podium in the 400m IM for a second straight time after taking a bronze in Budapest two years ago.
Amit Ivri improved the Israeli record in the women’s 200m IM by almost two seconds on Wednesday, first by a second in the morning heats and then by another 92 hundredths when she advanced to the final from sixth place overall in a time of 2:13.77m.
However, Ivri does not plan to take part in the final, deciding with Israel coach Leonid Kaufman to fully focus on setting the Olympic Qualifying Time in her main event the 100m butterfly on Thursday.
Two other Israelis will be taking part in a final on Thursday and both will be confident of claiming a medal. Jonatan Kopelev qualified for the final of the 50m backstroke from first place overall on Wednesday in a time of 24.98s, while Guy Barnea, who won a bronze in the event two years ago, advanced from third place after clocking 25.29s.
Also Wednesday, Nimrod Shapira Bar-Or and Tom Kremer reached the 200m fly semis, but missed out on a place in the final, with Shapira finishing in 11th overall and 17-year-old Kremer in 14th.