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Jonatan Kopelev

Jonatan Kopelev is an Israeli backstroke swimmer from Haifa who won the 50 m backstroke at the 2012 European Aquatics Championships.

born 19912012 European 50 m backstroke titleIsraeli record in 50 m backstrokeFirst Israeli European swimming gold

Born: 1 October 1991, Haifa
Occupation: swimmer

Jonatan Kopelev was born in 1991 in Haifa

Jonatan Kopelev was born on 1 October 1991 in Haifa, where he grew up. He started swimming at the age of 7 at the Maccabi Haifa Carmel club. He trained with Maccabi Haifa under coach Hanan Sterling.

He swam the 50 m, 100 m and 200 m backstroke. At the Israeli championships in July 2010 he won gold in the 100 m and 200 m backstroke. In 2012 he won the 50 m backstroke at the European Aquatics Championships in Debrecen, Hungary, as the first Israeli swimmer to win a European gold.

He met the qualifying standard for the 2012 London Olympics but missed the Games after an appendectomy. In 2013 he reached the final of the 50 m backstroke at the World Championships in Barcelona and placed eighth.

In July 2016 he swam the 50 m backstroke in 24.60, the fastest time of that year in the world and a new Israeli record. He competed for Israel at the 2019 World Championships. He lives in Haifa with his wife Monada.