In another impressive accomplishment, Israeli teenage swimming sensation Anastasia Gorbenko won the gold medal at the World Championships in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on Sunday in the 100m medley final.
Gorbenko finished the final race in 57.80 seconds, just ahead of France’s Beryl Gastaldello (57.96s) and bronze medalist Mariia Kameneva (58.15s) from Russia.
Sunday’s victory followed Gorbenko’s historic win on Friday, where she took home the gold in the 50-meter breaststroke category with a new Israeli record. Gorbenko, 18, is also the first Israeli to ever win a world swimming title.
She was congratulated for her Friday victory Saturday night, after Shabbat ended, by Culture and Sports Minister Chili Tropper.
“With perseverance and determination, you have proven how to make history!” Tropper said. “We are waiting to celebrate with you here in Israel.”
מדהימה!אנסטסיה גורבנקו עשתה היום היסטוריה ולראשונה אי פעם זכתה בזהב באליפות עולם עם ניצחון ענק. את גאווה לאומית. pic.twitter.com/QBll9Erq1k
— אלכס קושניר MK Alex Kushnir (@_kushnir_alex) December 17, 2021
“Anastasia Gorbenko made history today,” Yisrael Beytenu MK Alex Kushnir tweeted on Friday. “You are our national pride.”
Later Sunday night, Gorbenko just missed out on reaching the final in the 100-meter breaststroke, finishing the semifinal heats in 11th place overall, with the top eight advancing to the medal race.