Israeli swimming prospect Okan Goldin eyes European Championship debut
Nineteen-year-old Israeli swimmer Okan Goldin is set to make his senior European Championship debut in Paris this week, a milestone he describes as a crucial step in his career and preparation for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. Speaking to Ynet, Goldin stated that he believes he has the speed to compete at a high level and views this championship as a turning point for his sporting future. He is scheduled to compete in the 100m and 200m backstroke, having finished sixth and fifth respectively in those events at last year's World Junior Championships. Raised in Nahariya, northern Israel, Goldin described training under the constant threat of rocket sirens, noting that shrapnel from missiles landed in his parents' garden. He reported that for the first six months following 7 October, he was unable to conduct water training due to frequent changes in Home Front Command directives and the intermittent closure of swimming pools, forcing him to rely on dry-land training at home. Goldin described the psychological toll of the sirens, which would sound at all hours, and noted that the situation in northern Israel was often overshadowed by events in the centre of the country, leading many young athletes in the region to abandon their training. Eventually, after a two-year delay, he transferred to the Wingate Institute at the end of his junior year of high school to access professional support. Goldin, who began swimming at age six with Maccabi Nahariya, initially focused on freestyle and butterfly before his coach suggested he try the 200m backstroke at age 12. After recording superior times in that discipline, he made it his specialty. His father is a triathlete, and his mother was a diver in Slovakia. While Goldin previously competed in the short-course European Championships in December, he considers the Paris event a more significant test. He recently completed a three-week training camp in the Italian mountains and expressed excitement about competing alongside elite swimmers such as Leon Marchand and Adam Peaty, whom he watched on television as a child. Goldin is set to move to the University of California, Berkeley, to study economics and business administration while joining the university's swim team. He noted that he will need to adjust from metric to yard-based records and chose Berkeley for its reputation in developing swimmers. Goldin estimates he is approximately 1.3 seconds away from the qualifying standard for the Los Angeles Olympics. With the qualification window opening next year, he remains confident in his ability to meet the rigorous requirements, though he acknowledges that his performance in the European Championships will serve as a key indicator of his progress.