“I’m really happy, but I believe I can swim faster,” Hinawi says after event.
Israel’s medal haul at the European Games is up to eight after swimmer Marc Hinawi ended the 1,500-meter final in third place on Wednesday in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The 18-year-old Hinawi registered a time of 15:25.63 minutes, setting a new personal best and junior national record, which is just seven seconds slower than the senior Israel record.
The swimming events in Baku are being contested only by junior athletes and are also acting as the European Youth Championships.
“This feels amazing, but I expected to register a better result,” said Hinawi. “I’m really happy, but I believe I can swim faster.
I’m improving with every year and my goal is to reach Rio 2016, not just Tokyo 2020.”
Ziv Kalontarov will take part in the 100m freestyle final on Thursday, advancing from seventh place overall in a time of 50.61 seconds on Wednesday.
“I’m really pleased and my goal is to win a medal in the final,” said 18-year-old Kalontarov. “I think I have a 90 percent chance of qualifying for Rio in the 50m free.”
Misha Zilberman advanced to the round of 16 of the Badminton tournament in Baku on Wednesday, claiming his third win in three games by beating Samuel Cali of Malta 21-3, 21-4 in a mere 17 minutes.
The judo events in Baku, which will also act as this year’s European Championships, will get underway on Thursday. Israel will be represented by nine men and nine women.
As reported by The Jerusalem Post