Daria Golovaty's bid for a first individual final at a European Championships fell just short in Paris on Wednesday, as the Bat Yam swimmer was eliminated in the semifinals of the women's 200m freestyle.
Golovaty, who touched in 1:58.72 to win her heat comfortably a day earlier, shaved further time off in the semifinal, clocking 1:58.48. It was not enough: she finished seventh in her semifinal heat and 14th overall, missing the cut for Thursday's final, ONE reports.
It leaves the 20-year-old, Israel's national record holder in the event, to reflect on a championships in which she has been consistently fast without quite breaking through to the medal races. Her Israeli record of 1:57.87 was set at trials at the Wingate Institute in June 2024.
Golovaty arrives at these Championships as a European champion already, having anchored Israel's 4x200m freestyle relay to gold in Belgrade in 2024. She also swam at the Paris Olympics that summer, finishing 11th with the relay squad.
The 200m free was not the only event on the Israeli team's radar in Paris on Wednesday. Anastasia Gorbenko, the defending champion in the women's 400m individual medley, advanced to Thursday's final after qualifying seventh in the heats in 4:42.23.
Gorbenko, born in Haifa, won the title in Belgrade two years ago and remains Israel's headline act in the pool at these Championships, which run in Paris from July 31 to August 16.
With Golovaty out of contention in the 200m free, the Israeli delegation's hopes of a first medal at these Championships now rest more heavily on Gorbenko's shoulders heading into the 400m medley final.
