Sportsגיא ברנע

Guy Barnea

Guy Barnea is an Israeli swimmer who competed for Israel at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and won medals at European Championships in the backstroke.

born 1987Backstroke swimmingThe 2008 Beijing OlympicsEuropean Championships bronze medalsIsraeli swimming records

Born: 9 September 1987, Beersheba
Occupation: swimmer

Guy Barnea was born in 1987 in Beersheba

Barnea was born in Beersheba and grew up in Omer, the oldest of three sons of Eitan and Rachel Barnea. His brothers Nir and Or are also swimmers. He started swimming at age 6 because his parents hoped it would help his asthma.

He first swam butterfly with Hapoel Negev swimmers, then moved to the Wingate Institute boarding school and trained under Leonid Kauffman. He also swam for Hapoel Jerusalem and later switched to backstroke.

He studied business administration at UC Berkeley and was an All-American for the Golden Bears. In 2010 he was part of 3 relay teams that won NCAA titles.

Barnea reached the 100m backstroke semifinal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and set an Israeli record there. He won European bronze medals in the 50m backstroke in 2010 and 2012 and medals at the 2009 and 2011 World University Games. He set several Israeli records and competed at 6 world championships.

After his swimming career he became a swimming commentator.

Milestones in Guy Barnea's life

2005
Reached the final of the European Junior Championships in backstroke.
2007
Broke the Israeli record in the 100m backstroke for the first time.
2008
Competed for Israel at the Beijing Olympics.
2009
Won bronze in the 50m backstroke at the World University Games in Belgrade.
2009
Won gold in the 100m backstroke at the Maccabiah Games with a record time.
2010
Won European Championships bronze in the 50m backstroke in Budapest.
2011
Won silver in the 50m backstroke at the World University Games.
2012
Won European Championships bronze in the 50m backstroke in Debrecen.
2015
Set an Israeli record of 51.36 in the 100m butterfly.