Olympic pool in London
Olympic pool in LondonReuters

Amit Ivri swam in the London Olympics and became the first female Israeli swimmer to make the semi-finals. She spoke to Arutz Sheva after returning home and reported that the competition was “a lot of fun.”

“It was a unique experience,” she related.

Ivri, who won bronze in the European championships, said she was not disappointed by her results at the London games. “My goal was to at least make the semi-final, and I’m very happy that I reached my goal,” she said. “We always want more, but I really did enjoy every minute, and I’m glad that I managed to do it.”

This year’s swimming team was not capable of bringing home a medal, she said. “We are a small team. We are getting close to a medal, but we aren’t there yet.”

Like fellow Olympic competitor Alex Shatilov, Ivri said she does not blame Israeli Olympic officials or think that training was insufficient. “I have no complaints against anybody. I look at myself and what I did for those years,” she said.

“I trained very hard, I work hard with my trainers and the people around me, and get a lot of support from the Israeli Olympic committee,” she stated.

Ivri did, however, express the desire to see more investment in Israeli sports on a regular basis, and in the development of a “sports culture” in particular. “If Israeli children would participate in sports from a young age in school, that would move us forward,” she said. She added, “I very much want to believe that when I am old, I will see my grandchildren participating in many types of sport.”