As the Israeli delegation is on its way home from the World Swimming Championships held in the United Arab Emirates, the Wingate Institute in Netanya hosted the Arena Israeli short course championships on Tuesday in which swimmer Orian Gablan broke a long-standing Israeli record by finishing a 1,500-meter freestyle swim in 16:50.44 minutes.

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Gablan, 19, from Hapoel Hod Hasharon, broke a previous record set by former Olympic swimmer and now head of the Israel Swimming Association Adi Bichman in 1999 when she completed the distance in 17:10.29.

Open-water champion Eva Fabian – from Hapoel Beit Shemesh – finished second with 16:54.87, and Omer Schwartz – from Macabbi Kiryat Biyalik – came in third with 16:59.75, a new record for ages 15-16.

As for the men, Ido Gal – from Macabbi Kiryat Ono – finished first in 15:05.15, ahead of Yonatan Ahdut – from Hapoel Jerusalem Swim club – who completed the distance in 15:14.17. Yoav Romano came in third with 15:22.87.

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After winning the gold medal in the women's 50-meter breaststroke at the World Swimming Championships in Abu Dhabi on Friday, teen swimmer Anastasia Gorbenko scored another gold on Sunday when she won the 100-meter medley final.

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Gorbenko completed her swim in 57.80, a new personal best.

"This is my best time, what more could I ask? I came to have fun with my friends and do the best I can," Gorbenko said.

Culture and Sports Minister Chili Tropper said, "Anastasia Gorbenko does it again, proving herself a great athlete! Another gold medal in Abu Dhabi, and an unprecedented achievement. Congratulations on the second win, which is the result of hard work, leading to an enormous victory. We're proud of you, Anastasia."

On Friday, Gorbenko became the first Israeli to win a gold medal at the Short Course Championships.

"It's special to me and my country being here in Abu Dhabi after we have peace with them [the UAE]. Representing my county is such an honor," the swimmer said after her victory Friday.

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Matan Ivri from Emek Hefer was the first to cross the finish line among his compatriots, finishing seventh place with a time of 18 minutes and 30 seconds. Another Israeli, Adisu Guadia, reached 11th place with 18:34, and Israeli athlete Derba Ayale came in 19th with 18:47.

Together, they gave Israel 37 points, putting it right behind Ireland's 35 and UK's 34.

A total of 97 athletes took place in the competition. Ahead of the event, the Israeli team set a goal of winning second to fourth place."

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Paralympic taekwondo fighter Assaf Yasur won a gold medal at the World Taekwondo Championships held in Istanbul, Turkey on Saturday.

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Yasur, 19, competed in the under-58 kilogram category and defeated his Turkish opponent – 2019 bronze medalist Ali Can Ozcan – in the championship final by a score of 42:57, winning his first international medal.

On his way to victory, Yasur overcame opponents from India with a whopping score of 2:32, Guatemala (0:30) Mongolia (10:16), and Russia (4:13).

Yasur lost both hands at the age of 13 in an electrocution accident. Upon recovery, he began to train in Para Taekwondo. He has now set his sight on the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.

"I am the happiest person for the way I performed, for the medal and for this crazy day," Yasur said shortly after his victory.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid congratulated Yasur on Twitter saying he was "not just a source of huge national pride for our country, but he is also a reminder that willpower can take you to the highest peaks."

Culture and Sports Minister Hili Tropper also congratualted the champion.

"Five months ago I met Yasur and I knew that he would go on to win a medal. It was not a wild guess, simply because everyone who meets this wonderful young man understands that for him, the sky is the limit. He lost both hands a few days before his bar mitzvah, but did not lose his willpower or ambition for even a moment," he said.

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Israeli national team swimmer Gal Cohen Gromi achieved the Olympic criteria for next month's Tokyo Games in the Seven Hills competition in Rome last week and on Sunday, he and also took home a championship medal.

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Cohen Gromi, 19, won the silver medal in the 200-meter individual medley heat, with a time of 1:59:56.

Swimmer Aviv Barzilai, 19, took home the silver medal in the 200-meter backstroke and also set a new Israeli record with a time of 2:10.76.

She did not, however, meet the Olympic criteria, falling a mere 0.37 seconds behind the benchmark score.

The Israeli Olympic Committee is slated to finalize the makeup of the swimming team for the Tokyo Games later on Monday.

The Israeli delegation to the 2020 games, which were postponed over the global coronavirus pandemic and are set to take place between July 23 and Aug. 8, will be its biggest one to date.

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