Eithan Urbach

Last updated
Eithan Urbach
Eithan Urbach.jpg
Personal information
Full nameEithan Urbach
NationalityFlag of Israel.svg  Israel
Born (1977-01-12) 12 January 1977 (age 47)
Haifa, Israel
Height185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight75 kg (165 lb)
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes backstroke,
50m, 100m, 200m
Club Maccabi Haifa
College team Auburn University
Coach David Marsh (Auburn)
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing Flag of Israel.svg  Israel
European LC Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1997 Seville 100 m backstroke
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1999 Istanbul 100 m backstroke
European Championships (SC)
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1998 Sheffield 100 m backstroke

Eithan Urbach (born 12 January 1977 in Haifa) is a former backstroke swimmer from Israel who swam for Auburn University. Swimming for Israel, Urbach competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. In the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Urbach's 4x100 Israeli medley relay team, with Urbach swimming the backstroke leg, set an Israeli National Record in a preliminary heat, becoming the first Israeli swimming team to make the finals of this Olympic event. In 1997, Urbach shared Israel's Sportsman of the Year award. [1]

Contents

College swimming

While at Auburn, Urbach swam under accomplished head swim coach David Marsh. Under Marsh's direction, Auburn won the NCAA Swimming championships in 1997 and 1999, while Urbach was swimming for the team. Marsh would also serve as a professional adviser to the Israeli Swimming Association. [2] [3]

1997 SEC Championships

At the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Swimming Championships on February 22, 1997, Urbach placed 5th in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:45:74. Auburn won the SEC Championships that year, and began a long streak of successive SEC championships through the 2011-2012 season. [4]

1997 NCAA Championships

At the March, 1997 NCAA Swimming Championships at the Aquatic Center at the University of Minnesota, Urbach placed eighth in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:45:76. Urbach's time was only around 4.66 seconds behind American Lenny Krayzelburg's first place time in the NCAA event that year. [5] The Auburn men's team won the NCAA Swimming Championships that year, and finished the 1997 regular season by March undefeated. [6] [7] [8]

1996 Summer olympics

Israeli 100m backstroke record

Urbach swam in two events in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

On July 23, 1996, swimming for Israel, Urbach competed in his signature event, the 100 m backstroke, placing 22nd. Though his finish was not near medal contention, at only 19 Ethan notably set an Israeli record of 56.74, three seconds behind the world record held by America's Jeff Rouse at 53.66. The win gave Urbach national prominence in the stroke. [9]

Israeli 4 x 100 medley relay record

In their eighth place 4x100 medley relay at the 1996 Olympics, Urbach swam backstroke for the Israeli team, which finished with a time in the finals of 3:42:90. Yoav Bruck, another Auburn swimmer and a highly accomplished Israeli freestyler swam the final freestyle leg. [1] In one of his most significant accomplishments as a swimmer, Urbach helped the Israeli team set a national record in the medley relay preliminaries, which was slightly faster than their final's time, and Urbach's 1996 Israeli Olympic swim team became the first to reach a swimming final. An enthusiastic American crowd and large global television audience watched the finish. [10]

2000 Summer olympics

Swimming for Israel in the 2000 Olympics at the Sydney International Aquatic Center, he competed in the 4x100m freestyle relay, placing 14th with a team time of 3:22.06. [1]

In the 100m backstroke, one of Urbach's strongest events and his best showing at the 2000 Olympics, Urbach placed 8th with a time of 55.74, breaking his prior personal record, and just two seconds behind the Gold Medal time of American Lenny Krazelberg, another Jewish athlete who excelled in backstroke. Urbach's time was only around 1 second behind the bronze medal winner's time, but there was a very close finish, placing him out of medal contention. [1]

With Urbach competing with the Israeli team in the 4x100m medley relay swimming backstroke, the team placed 17th with a combined time of 32:43.39. [1]

International competition

European championships medals, '97-99

In the European Championships in Seville, Spain, he medaled in August 1997, with a silver in the 100m backstroke with a time of 55.88. [11]

In the 1998 European Championships in the short course, at Sheffield, England he received a bronze medal in the 100 meter backstroke with a time of 53.64. [11]

In July 1999 at the European Championships, he obtained a bronze medal in the 100m backstroke in Istanbul, Turkey with a time of 55.87. [11] [12]

World Cup Bronze medals, 1996, 2002

In the FINA Swimming World Cup in November 1996, in Germany, he received a Bronze medal in the 200m backstroke with a time of 1:57:52. [11]

At the age of 25, in the FINA Swimming World Cup in January 2002, he won a Bronze medal in France in the 50m backstroke with a time of 25:02, and a Bronze medal in the 100 meter backstroke with a time of 53:24. [11]

Finishing out of medal contention in the 100 meter backstroke in January 1998 at the World Championships in Perth, Australia, Urbach finished 7th, with a time of 55.97. [13]

Finishing just out of medal contention, in the European Championships in Helsinki in July 2000, he placed fourth in the 100m backstroke finals with a time of 55.94. [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremy Linn</span> American swimmer

Jeremy Porter Linn is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic medalist, world record-holder and current swim coach. Linn set an American record in the 100-meter breaststroke while winning the silver medal in that event at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, in a time of 1:00.77. With a burst of speed in the final stretch, he finished just .12 seconds behind the gold medal winner from Belgium who had previously set the World Record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Marsh (swimming coach)</span>

David Marsh is the associate head coach at University of California, Berkeley and head coach of Team Elite in San Diego, California, and the ‘Professional Adviser’ of the Israel Swimming Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yoav Bruck</span> Israeli swimmer (born 1972)

Yoav Bruck in the northern Negev in south-central Israel, is a former Israeli swimmer, who competed in three Summer Olympics for his native country, in the years 1992, 1996, and 2000. In Olympic competition, Bruck swam the 50m and 100m freestyle events, as well as the 4x100m free and medley relays for Israel. In the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Bruck's 4x100 Medley Relay team set an Israeli national record in a preliminary heat, and became the first Israeli team to make the finals in that even. He has served as a founder and CEO of Israel's ISTAA Sport, a sports ticketing and travel company.

Catherine Mai-Lan Fox, born December 15, 1977 in Detroit, Michigan, is an American former swimmer who competed for Stanford University, and won two gold medals swimming freestyle at the 1996 Summer Olympics, one in the 4x100 freestyle relay and one in the 4x100 medley relay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auburn Tigers swimming and diving</span> Swimming and diving program for Auburn University

The Auburn Tigers swimming and diving program is Auburn University's representative in the sport of swimming and diving. The Tigers compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 and are members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The program started in 1932 when the pool was in the basement of the gymnasium. The program had to telegraph their timed results to other schools and compare as the pool was too small for competitions.

Margaret Josephine Hoelzer is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder. Hoelzer competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Olympic Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Pelton</span> American swimmer

Elizabeth Anne Pelton is an American former competitive swimmer and multi FINA world champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guy Barnea</span> Israeli swimmer (born 1987)

Guy Marcos Barnea is an Israeli swimmer who represented Israel at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and has won three medals at the European Championships. As of March 2016, he held the Israeli records in the long course 50m backstroke (24.64), the short course 50m backstroke (23.27), and the long course 100m butterfly (51.36).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Murphy (swimmer)</span> American swimmer

Ryan Fitzgerald MurphyOLY is an American competitive swimmer specializing in backstroke. He is a four-time Olympic gold medalist and the former world-record holder in the men's 100-meter backstroke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olivia Smoliga</span> American swimmer

Olivia Smoliga is a 2X Olympian and American competitive swimmer who specializes in backstroke and freestyle events. She won a record eight gold medals at the 2018 World Championships, becoming the first swimmer, male or female, to win eight or more gold medals in a single FINA World Swimming Championships or FINA World Aquatics Championships. Smoliga is the current American record-holder in the 50-meter backstroke. She is also the current Guinness World Record holder for "most gold medals won at a single FINA World Championships" by an individual swimmer. At the 2016 Summer Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro, she won a gold medal for swimming the backstroke leg in the preliminary heat of the 4x100-meter medley relay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louise Hansson</span> Swedish swimmer (born 1996)

Louise Maria Hansson is a Swedish competitive swimmer, a member of Helsingborgs SS.

Luke Greenbank is an English professional swimmer who specialises in backstroke. A medalist in the 200 metre backstroke at the Olympic Games and the World and European championships, he also swam the first leg in the 2019 World and 2020 European Championship gold medal-winning Great Britain medley relay teams. He won a silver medal as lead-off for Great Britain in the 4 x 100 metre medley relay for men at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He won a gold medal as lead-off for England in the heats of the 4 x 100 metre medley relay for men at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evgeny Rylov</span> Russian swimmer (born 1996)

Evgeny Mikhailovich Rylov is a Russian competitive swimmer and Olympic champion specializing in backstroke events. He won three gold medals at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing, and a bronze medal at his senior international debut at the 2015 World Championships in Kazan. He also won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and a gold medal at the 2017 World Championships in Budapest, both were in the 200 metre backstroke event. In 2018, at the 2018 World Short Course Championships, he won gold medals in the 200 metre backstroke and 50 metre backstroke. At the 2019 World Championships, he won a gold medal in the 200 metre backstroke, silver medal in the 100 metre backstroke, and silver medal in the 50 metre backstroke. He won the gold medal in the 100 metre backstroke and 200 metre backstroke at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regan Smith (swimmer)</span> American swimmer (born 2002)

Regan Smith is an American competitive swimmer. As of 2024, Smith trains under Bob Bowman with Longhorn Aquatics. She is the world junior record holder in the women's long course 100-meter backstroke and 200-meter backstroke; the world record holder in the long course 100-meter backstroke; and the former record holder in the 200-meter backstroke. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in three events representing the United States, winning a bronze medal in the 100-meter backstroke, a silver medal in the 200-meter butterfly, and a silver medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay. At the World Aquatics Championships, she won individual gold medals in the 200-meter backstroke in 2019 and the 100-meter backstroke in 2022 and a relay gold medal swimming the backstroke leg of the 4x100 medley relay in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tomer Frankel</span> Israeli swimmer (born 2000)

Tomer Frankel is an Israeli Olympic swimmer. He is the former European junior champion in the 100m freestyle and the 4 × 200m freestyle, and competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Frankel is representing Israel at the 2024 Paris Olympics at the Paris La Défense Arena in the 100 metre freestyle, 100 metre butterfly, 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay, and 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay on July 27 and 30-31, and August 2-3, 2024.

Hannah Margaret McNair "Maggie" Mac NeilOLY, MSc is a Canadian competitive swimmer. A 100 metre butterfly event specialist, she is the 2020 Olympic champion, 2019 World (LC) champion, two-time World (SC) champion, 2022 Commonwealth champion, and 2023 Pan American champion. She holds the short course world record, the Commonwealth record, and Pan American record in the event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anastasia Gorbenko</span> Israeli swimmer (born 2003)

Anastasia "Nastiya" Gorbenko is an Israeli competitive swimmer. She competes in the backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle, and medley. She has won 8 World and European championships gold medals, competed at 2 Olympic finals, broken most of the Israeli national records for women and mixed relays, and is considered to be Israel's greatest swimmer of all time. In February 2024, Gorbenko won a silver medal at the Doha World Championships in the women's 400 meters individual medley. Gorbenko is representing Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics in swimming in the 100m backstroke, 200m backstroke, 100m breaststroke, 200m individual medley, 400m individual medley, 4x200m freestyle relay, and mixed 4x100m medley relay on July 28-30 and August 1-3, 2024, in Nanterre, a western suburb of Paris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claire Curzan</span> American swimmer (born 2004)

Claire Curzan is an American competitive swimmer and Olympian. Specialising in multiple events, she earned an Olympic silver medal in the 4×100 meter medley relay in the 2020 Summer Olympics by swimming the preliminary butterfly leg. She holds junior world records in the long course 50 meter freestyle and 100 meter butterfly and the short course 50 meter butterfly and 100 meter butterfly. She also holds American records in the short course 50 meter backstroke and 50 meter butterfly, and formerly held the American record in the 100 yard butterfly. She currently swims for the Virginia Cavaliers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hunter Armstrong</span> American swimmer (born 2001)

Joseph Hunter Armstrong is an American competitive swimmer. He is the world record holder in the long course 50 meter backstroke. At the 2022 World Aquatics Championships, he won a silver medal in the 50 meter backstroke, a bronze medal in the 100 meter backstroke, gold medals in the 4×100 meter freestyle relay and 4×100 meter mixed medley relay, and a silver medal in the 4×100 meter medley relay. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, he won a gold medal in the 4×100 meter medley relay, swimming backstroke in the preliminaries, and placed ninth in the 100 meter backstroke.

Shaine Casas is an American professional swimmer. He is an Americas record holder in the short course 4×50 meter medley relay, swimming the butterfly leg of the relay. At the 2021 World Short Course Championships, he won the gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke, a silver medal in the 200-meter backstroke, and placed seventh in the 50-meter backstroke. In 2022, at the year's World Aquatics Championships, he won the bronze medal in the 200-metre backstroke. Later in the year, at the 2022 World Short Course Championships, he won the silver medal in the 200-metre backstroke and placed fourth in the finals of the 100-meter individual medley and 200-meter individual medley.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Olympedia, Eithan Urbach Biography". olympedia.com.
  2. "DAVID MARSH TO TAKE HEAD COACHING ROLE AT UC SAN DIEGO"
  3. "David Marsh out at UCSD; will continue with Team Elite, Pros, consulting". SwimSwam.com. 9 July 2019. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  4. "Scoreboard, Swimming, SEC Championships", The Atlanta Constitution, pg. 56, 23 February 1997
  5. "College Sports, Men's Swimming, NCAA championships", The Daily Breeze, Torrence, California, pg. 31, 30 March 1997
  6. "2 Tigers Make "A" Cut", The Montgomery Advisor, Montgomery, Alabama, pg. 50, 9 March 1997
  7. "Highlights" (PDF). ncaa.org. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  8. "Men's Swimming & Diving Championship History". ncaa.com. March 17, 2016. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  9. "Records Fall", Birmingham Post-Herald, Birmingham, Alabama, pg. 41, 24 July 1966
  10. "Hargis", Montgomery Advertiser, Montgomery, Alabama, pg. 20, 27 July 1996
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 "World Aquatics, Eithan Urback, Personal Bests". worldaquatics.com.
  12. "Swimming, European Championships, Istanbul, Turkey, 100m backstroke", Omaha World Herald, Omaha, Nebraska, pg. 28, 28 July 1999
  13. "Aquatics, World Championships", The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California, pg. 55, 16 January 1998
  14. "Swimming European Championships", The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, pg. 43, 6 July 2000