Jonatan Kopelev

Kopelev established himself as one of Israel's foremost backstroke swimmers while still a teenager, winning the Israeli national title in the 100-meter backstroke in 2009, 2010, and 2011.[1] Earlier in his career he had also captured Israeli championships in the 400-meter freestyle in 2008 and 2009, demonstrating versatility before settling into backstroke as his primary discipline.[1]

At the international level, Kopelev reached three European Championship finals in the 100-meter backstroke, finishing sixth at the 2010 championships in the Netherlands, seventh in Poland in 2011, and seventh again in Denmark in 2013.[1] These results marked him as a consistent European-level competitor and set the stage for the breakthrough that would define his career.

At the 2012 long-course European Swimming Championships in Debrecen, Hungary, Kopelev won the men's 50-meter backstroke in a time of 24.73 seconds.[1] The victory made him the first Israeli swimmer to win gold at the European Swimming Championships.[2][3] His compatriot Guy Barnea also stood on the podium, finishing third, giving Israel both gold and bronze in the same event.[4]

The achievement was all the more resonant for Kopelev personally. "I didn't think I would ever hear 'Hatikva.' It's amazing," he said after the Israeli national anthem played at the medal ceremony.[2] The 50-meter backstroke is a non-Olympic event, which would prove significant in the months that followed.[1]

Despite the euphoria of Debrecen, Kopelev did not compete at the 2012 London Olympics. He had achieved the qualifying standard in the 100-meter backstroke that June, but appendicitis shortly before his departure prevented him from competing.[1][5] The 50-meter backstroke, the event in which he was European champion, was in any case not on the Olympic program.[1]

At the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona, Kopelev was part of Israel's eight-swimmer delegation and reached the 50-meter backstroke final, finishing eighth.[4][5] He also made the 100-meter backstroke final at the European Championships that year, placing seventh.[1] At the 2015 European Short Course Swimming Championships, held in Netanya, he reached the 50-meter backstroke final and posted a personal best of 23.45 seconds, finishing sixth.[6]

In 2016, Kopelev swam 24.60 seconds in the 50-meter backstroke, a time reported as the world's best of that year and a new Israeli record.[5] He was listed among Israel's leading candidates for Rio Olympics selection ahead of the 2016 European Championships in London, where the Israeli team sent 27 swimmers.[7] He ultimately did not qualify for Rio, having missed the Olympic standard in the 100-meter backstroke.[5]

The 2017 World Championships in Budapest marked Kopelev's second World Championship final. Entering with an Israeli record of 24.60 seconds, he qualified for the 50-meter backstroke final by placing eighth overall in the semifinal with a time of 24.84 seconds — edging Russia's Grigory Tarasevich by just two hundredths of a second.[8][9] He had finished eighth in the 2013 final and placed 11th in the semifinals at the preceding World Championships.[8]

In his preparation, Kopelev made the deliberate choice to skip the Israeli team's pre-championship training camp in Győr, Hungary, preferring to stay in Israel and arrive only a few days before his event.[10] He explained that his event fell late in the program and that a full week of waiting while other competitors raced could be mentally draining.[10] He described his final month of preparation as "close to perfect" in terms of his physical feeling and mental readiness, and said that missing the Rio Olympics — coupled with the strong swimming performances he had witnessed the previous summer — had sharpened his motivation to win a World Championship medal.[10]

Heading into the final, Kopelev noted that his personal best ranked fourth among the finalists, making a podium finish a realistic aim. "A medal is not a dirty word," he said, though he added that he preferred to let his performance speak: "Actions speak louder than words."[10] He ultimately finished eighth in the final, the same position he had occupied four years earlier in Barcelona.[5]

Kopelev retired from competitive swimming in 2021.[11] Less than six months before his thirtieth birthday, he was preparing to end his competitive career and formally announce the decision at a press conference.[1]

His competitive instincts proved enduring. In January 2025, Kopelev entered the World Ice Swimming Championships in Molveno, Italy, competing in the men's 30–34 age category.[12] He won the 50-meter freestyle in 27.08 seconds and finished the competition with three gold medals, one silver medal, and two world records — an emphatic return to international podiums in a new aquatic discipline.[12]

Kopelev's principal place in Israeli swimming history rests on his 2012 European title, reported as the country's first gold medal in swimming at the continental championships.[2] His two eighth-place finishes in World Championship finals, together with the 24.60-second Israeli record that was also reported as the world's fastest 50-meter backstroke of 2016, placed his sprint backstroke career in an international context.[5]

His 2025 ice-swimming results extended that competitive record into a different discipline: he won three gold medals and one silver and set two world records in his age category.[12]