Israeli swimmer Anastasia Gorbenko on Tuesday defended her title in the 200-meter individual medley stopping the clock at 2 minutes and 10.92 seconds at the 2022 European Aquatics Championships in Rome.
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"I'm happy that I could close this extremely long season with a result like this," the swimmer, who this week marked her 19th birthday, said.
"The truth is, I don't believe it … This season wasn't easy, especially mentally. I had a lot of crises and I went through a lot of stuff, but I last month I set myself the goal of keeping my place, and I'm proud of myself that I did it," she said.
Gorbenko said she had been aware that at the 100-meter point she was the first to turn around, which both excited her and created pressure.
"After that, I just couldn't see anything. I was in Lane 2 and everyone was in the middle, so I was just fighting against myself until the end," she added.
The Israeli athlete won the title for the second year in a row, repeating her victory last year in Hungary. She beat Marit Steenbergen of the Netherlands and Sara Franceschi of Italy after leading from the first 50 meters.
Gorbenko also said she wants to break her personal record next year, but before returning to work was planning a short break.
"I want to thank everyone who watched, cheered, and of course all the sponsors," she said.
Gorbenko's triumph marks the third medal for Israeli female swimmers at European Aquatics. The first one to bring the title to Israeli team was Amit Ivry, who won bronze in the 100-meter butterfly finals in 2012.
Last year, Gorbenko won her second gold medal at the World Swimming Championships in Abu Dhabi, setting a new Israeli record by finishing the 100-meter individual medley in 57.80 seconds. She also bagged the gold medal in the women's 50-meter breaststroke at the same tournament.
In 2020, she became the first female Israeli athlete to reach the Olympic swimming final. As part of Israel's delegation to Tokyo 2020, Gorbenko set a new national record in the 100-meter backstroke.
Thus far, Israel has won 14 medals at the European Championships, including two golds.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
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