Israeli swimmer Yakov Toumarkin won his second bronze medal at the 31th European Swimming Championship held in Hungary on Saturday, in what is fast becoming one of the most successful swimming tournaments in Israel's history.
Toumarkin reached third in the 200-meter backstroke event, setting a new Israeli record with a time of 1:57:53 minutes, after fetching the bronze at an earlier 100-meter back stroke finals. He has become the first Israeli swimmer to garner two medals in a single European championship contest.
The young Israeli swimmer (20) will receive a grant worth NIS 25,000, half of which will be given to his trainer.
His medal is the fifth overall obtained by a member of the Israeli delegations in this tournament, following a total of nine such medals achieved since Israel started taking part in European swimming championships.
On Thursday, Jonatan Kopelev became the first Israeli European swimming champion ever when he won the 50-meter backstroke by blowing away the field with a time of 24.73 seconds on Thursday.
He wasn't the only Israeli on the podium in Debrecen, though. Guy Barnea tied two other swimmers on 25.14 seconds for bronze to join Kopelev in listening to the Israeli national anthem.
