Herzlia swimmer races Israel’s best

While most Grade 8 pupils were settling into high school, Herzlia’s Yoni Melnik was testing himself against some of Israel’s best young swimmers at the Israeli National Swimming Championships in Netanya from 28 to 30 July. 

After being disappointed at not being able to compete at the Maccabi Games in July, and since he was already going to be in Israel, he decided to join a local club in Ramat Hasharon and swim in any way he could. 

The coaches there encouraged him to try to qualify for the Israeli National Swimming Championships. 

“I competed in a qualifying meet and achieved the required time in the 200m breaststroke, which earned me a place at the Israeli National Swimming Championships. Unfortunately, I missed the qualifying event for the 100m breaststroke because it had already taken place before I arrived in Israel, so I was able to compete only in the 200m breaststroke,” he said. 

Melnik has always had a passion for swimming, having watched his older brother swim competitively. He has himself been competing since he was 10 years old. 

Since he has swum in the South African Championships, he wasn’t surprised that he was able to qualify in Israel. He travelled to Hungary with one of Israel’s leading youth squads for a two-week training camp. 

“I trained twice a day in the pool, along with daily gym sessions. After returning to Israel, I continued training with the club until the national championships. It was a lot of hard work, but it was an amazing experience, and I learned so much from the coaches and the other swimmers.” 

Melnik qualified for the 200m breaststroke final and two relay events. 

And even though he didn’t achieve his personal best times, the experience was, he said, extremely valuable and something he will never forget.