Israel's men's 4x200m freestyle relay team has etched their names in the nation's sporting history. The quartet of Bar Soloveychik, Eitan Ben Shitrit, Gal Cohen Groumi, and Denis Loktev secured a spot in the Olympic final, marking only the sixth time Israeli swimming has reached this prestigious stage.
The team clocked an impressive 7:08.43, shattering the previous national record by 0.21 seconds. This stellar performance landed them in a tie for 8th place with Japan in the preliminaries, prompting officials to expand the final to nine teams instead of the usual eight.
Cohen Groumi stood out with a blistering split of 1:45.57, a time bettered by only three other swimmers in the entire field of 64 competitors.
This achievement marks a significant milestone for Israeli swimming:
- It's the third time an Israeli relay team has reached an Olympic final
- It's the sixth Olympic swimming final for Israel overall
- The last relay final appearance for Israel was in the 4x100m mixed medley at Tokyo 2020
