Anastasia Gorbenko Leads Israeli Mixed Medley Relay Off In 59.44 Backstroke Split

By Anya Pelshaw on SwimSwam

2024 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

• June 17-23, 2024
• LCM (50 meters)
• Belgrade, Serbia
• Prelims: 9:30 am local time
• Finals: 5:30 pm local time
• Psych Sheets 
• Men’s Storylines
• Women’s Storylines
• Live Results
• Day 1 Prelims Live Recap | Day 1 Finals Live Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Live Recap
• Day 2 Finals Live Recap

MIXED 4×100 MEDLEY RELAY – FINAL

• World Record: 3:37.58 – Great Britain (2021)
• European Record: 3:37.58 – Great Britain (2021)
• Championship Record: 3:38.82 – Great Britain (2021)

Final:

1. Israel – 3:45.74
2. Germany – 3:48.12
3. Hungary – 3:48.79
4. Sweden – 3:49.93
5. Denmark – 3:50.99
6. Ireland – 3:51.06
7. Poland – DQ
8. Greece – DQ

With the mixed medley relay on night 2, there are many different splits to analyze as teams went with different orders on their relays. The most consistent decision was that every swimmer had a female on the freestyle leg.

The biggest split on the backstroke leg came from Israel’s Anastasia Gorbenko as she led off in a 59.44, a time just off her personal best of a 59.30 that she swam at the 2020(1) Tokyo Olympics. Gorbenko was the fastest female by over two seconds and left the relay within striking range to catch up on the breaststroke leg.

Most of the relays went with males on the breaststroke leg. Germany’s Melvin Imoudu had the fastest split with a 59.09 which was slightly slower than his winning flat start time in the event earlier in the night. Earlier in the evening, he won the European title in a 58.84.

Despite finishing 5th, Denmark’s Casper Puggaard posted the fastest butterfly split with a 51.22. Notably, Greece used a female on the butterfly leg along with Sweden.

The last 100 was an all-female leg as Hungary’s Petra Senanszky charged home in a 54.26 helping the team move up from 4th to 3rd.

SwimSwam: Anastasia Gorbenko Leads Israeli Mixed Medley Relay Off In 59.44 Backstroke Split