Yoav Gath ( he, יואב גת; born November 8, 1980) is an Olympic and national-record

backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four Swimming (sport), swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disa ...

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

from

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. He swam for Israel at the 2000 Olympics. Biography Yoav Gath was born in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

. He trained at Hapoel Kiryat-Tivon swimming club coached by Andre Tot. At age 15 he relocated to the Academy for Sport Excellence at the

Wingate Institute Wingate Institute ( he, מכון וינגייט), officially Orde Wingate Institute for Physical Education and Sports ( he, המכון לחינוך גופני ולספורט ע"ש אורד וינגייט), is a sports training institute located so ...

, coached by Leonid Kaufman and joined

Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's leadi ...

swimming club. Yoav won gold 1995 at the

European Youth Olympics The European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) is a biennial multi-sport event for youth (14 to 18 years old) athletes from the 50 member countries of the association of European Olympic Committees. The festival has a summer edition, held for the fir ...

in Bath in the men's 200-meter backstroke with a time of 2:07.65. In 1996 he won silver at the European Junior Champs in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, Denmark, in the 200 back Long-course, with a time of 2:04.74. His time in the 100 back was 1:00.84. At the

1997 Maccabiah Games The 15th Maccabiah Games are remembered for being marred by a Maccabiah bridge collapse, bridge collapse that killed several participants. The Maccabiah had more than 5,000 athletes from 33 countries competing in 36 sports. New sports for the Game ...

he won gold in the 200 back with new Israeli and Maccabiah records of 2:03.14. At the European Champs. August 1997 in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

Spain his times in the 100 and 200 back Long-course were respectively 59.73 and 2:04:95. 1998-99 Yoav trained at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

, Athens, GA. At the preliminaries of the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

he earned a new Georgia record in 200-yards backstroke 1:42.71, and placed fifth, 1.42.95 at the finals as an All American. At the European Champs. in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, Turkey 1999 he finished 4th in the 200 back Long-course with 2:00.72. His time in 100 back was 58.24. At the 2000 European Champs.

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, Finland he won bronze in 200 back Long-course with a new Israeli record of 2:00.20. His 100 back time was 57:40. At the

2000 Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

he made the semifinals in the 200 back with 2:00.20 and placed 16. At the 2001 World Champs.

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

Japan he placed 8th in the 200 back Long-course with 2:00.09. In the semifinals he was the first Israeli swimmer to go under 2 min with a new Israeli record 1:59:39. At the 2001 European Champs.

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

Belgium Short-course he won silver in the 200 back with a new Israeli record 1:54.15. At the 2001 World Champs. Short-course Moscow, Russia he placed 6th with 1:54.32. His 100 back time (14th) was 53.42. His 100 individual medley of 57.04 (31st) was a new Israeli record. At the 2003 World Champs.

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Spain Long-course he finished 10th in 200 back with a new Israeli record of 1:59.22, this record was broken in 2009, after 6 years. In 100 back he finished 15th with 55.71. His time at the preliminaries, 55.41 was one tenth beyond the Israeli national record. At the

2005 Maccabiah Games The 17th Maccabiah Games ( he, המכביה ה-17 ישראל תשס"ה), held in Israel, were an incarnation of the 'Jewish Olympics.' They attracted the largest attendance of any Maccabiah Games, including more than 900 representatives from the Un ...

Yoav won gold both in 100 and 200 back, the 200 being a new Maccabiah record, 2:02.66. After the swimming Yoav received a BSc with distinction in

pure mathematics Pure mathematics is the study of mathematical concepts independently of any application outside mathematics. These concepts may originate in real-world concerns, and the results obtained may later turn out to be useful for practical applications, ...

from the Technion, IIT, in 2017. During his graduate studies in the field of

Analytic Number Theory In mathematics, analytic number theory is a branch of number theory that uses methods from mathematical analysis to solve problems about the integers. It is often said to have begun with Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet's 1837 introduction of Diric ...

he was transferred to a direct PhD track and graduated with a PhD in pure mathematics in 2021. Yoav is married to Michal Gath Morad. She received a BSc in architecture and an MSc Summa Cum Laude in

Town planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

from the Technion, IIT, and a PhD in Town planning from the Suisse Federal Institute of Technology (ETH).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gath, Yoav 1980 births Living people Israeli Jews Israeli male swimmers Male backstroke swimmers Olympic swimmers of Israel Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Competitors at the 1997 Maccabiah Games Competitors at the 2005 Maccabiah Games Maccabiah Games medalists in swimming Maccabiah Games gold medalists for Israel Jewish swimmers Georgia Bulldogs men's swimmers People from Haifa European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming