Yakov Toumarkin
Andy Ram
Photo: Oren Aharoni
Toumarkin breaks Israeli Olympic swimming record
Disappointing day for Israelis ends on high note as 20 year-old swimmer comes in 7th at 200 meter backstroke final, breaking record set by Eitan Orbach in 2000
It was a day of bitter disappointment for Israel's
Olympiads on the tennis courts and judo arena but in the swimming pool, Israeli swimmer Yakov Toumarkin
was making history.
The 20-year-old competed on Thursday in the 200 meter backstroke finals and while most predictions saw him finishing in eighth and last place he exceeded expectations, claiming seventh place with a time of 1:57.62 seconds.
Making History
Nadav Zenziper, Oren Aharoni
'I began the competition with a bad feeling, but then everything clicked,' 20- year old says after becoming second Israeli swimmer to reach Olympic final
Toumarkin's time was not as fast as his semi-final finishing time (1:57:33 – an Israeli record) but thanks to an amazing finish over the last 50 meters of the race he moved forward from last to seventh place.
Toumarkin is the first Israeli swimmer to make the finals since Eitan Orbach finished in eighth place in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
- For full coverage of the London Games click here
Earlier Thursday, Israeli tennis duo Andy Ram and Yoni Erlich's Olympic dream came to an end after losing in the quarter finals to American siblings Bob and Mike Bryan, who are ranked No 1. in tennis doubles. The final score was 7:6, 7:6.
The devastating loss came just one day after Ram and Erlich defeated former Olympic Swiss gold medalists Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka.
Toumarkin after successful final (Photo: Oren Aharoni)
Speaking after the match Ram said: "After our victory against Federer, we have this loss, but it doesn't take anything away (from that victory).
"We reached the quarter finals, a stage where you already think of going all the way; we played against the best duo in the world, when you don't take chances you lose."
Ram and Erlich in London (Photo: Oren Aharoni)
Ram added: "It may have been the most painful defeat in our career, but they won't take our victory over Federer away from us. You see, there aren't many people who defeated the best player in the world.
"We are tennis players who need to look ahead. We received lots of messages of support, Ehud Olmert was cheering us on during the whole match."
