Israeli swimmer Ofir Simcha has won bronze at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, claiming the Jewish State’s first medal of this year’s competition.
The 17-year-old finished third in the women’s 200m backstroke final on Sunday with a time of 2:17.44, improving on the 2:18.18 she recorded in qualifying.
She is the first Israeli swimmer to reach the podium at the competition since Anastasia Gorbenko and Denis Loktev in 2018.
The Games, which opened in the Senegalese capital on Sunday, are the first Olympic event to be held on the African continent.
Simcha’s achievement marks Israel’s 11th medal in the history of the Youth Olympic Games and its fifth in swimming.
One of Israel’s most promising young swimmers, Simcha will have further opportunities to add to her medal tally, with appearances still scheduled in the 50m and 100m backstroke and the 200m individual medley.
Meanwhile, Israeli judoka Itamar Cohen was eliminated from the under-66kg competition after losing to Argentina’s Tiago Carvalho in the repêchage round.
Cohen had earlier defeated Mozambique’s Bruno Pinto after falling in the quarter-finals to France’s Nathan Binbay.
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