Making a splash with Israeli Olympian Anastasia Gorbenko
At only 17 years of age, Gorbenko was able to meet the Olympic criteria to punch her ticket to the Games which is a huge accomplishment at such a young age.
By JOSHUA HALICKMANIsraeli swimmer Anastasia Gorbenko(photo credit: REUTERS)One of the biggest stories coming out of the Israeli camp for the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer is swimmer Anastasia Gorbenko.
At only 17 years of age, Gorbenko was able to meet the Olympic criteria to punch her ticket to the Games which is a huge accomplishment at such a young age.
Gorbenko won’t be just going to the Games to compete, but she will be participating in four different categories in Women's swimming; the 100 Meter Freestyle, 100 Meter Backstroke, 100 Meter Breaststroke and the 200 Meter Individual Medley.
With that, Gorbenko will be the only Israeli swimmer representing the blue-and-white flag in this year’s edition of the Olympics in four different categories which is extremely impressive at such a young age.
Gorbenko recently won a gold medal at the 2020 European Championship in the 200 Meter individual medley which recently took place this past May in Budapest.
Born in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, Gorbenko later moved with her family to Kiryat Bialik, where she joined the local Maccabi sports club. In 2017, Gorbenko began attending the Wingate Institute in order to train and study at the same time which allowed her to develop the skills needed to take her to the top of the sport.
Gorbenko began raking in the medals at youth tournaments including the Maccabiah games where she won a pair of golds while then capturing a silver at the Summer Youth Festival. In 2018, Gorbenko won gold again this time at the Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires as she watched the Israeli flag raised from the top spot on the podium.
