Sportsמיקי חליקה

Michael Halika

Michael "Mickey" Halika is a former Israeli Olympic swimmer who specialized in individual medley events and became chairman of the Israel Swimming Association in 2021.

born 1978400 m individual medleyFirst Israeli Universiade medalEuropean Championships silver medalChairing Israel Swimming Association

Born: 11 November 1978, Jerusalem
Occupation: swimmer

Michael Halika was born in 1978 in Jerusalem

Halika was born in Jerusalem in 1978 and grew up in the Gilo neighborhood. He swam for Hapoel Jerusalem. At 13 he joined the boarding school for gifted athletes at the Wingate Institute, where he trained under coach Leonid Kaufman.

In 1995 he won bronze in the 400 m individual medley at the European Junior Championships in Geneva, setting an Israeli record. At the 1997 Universiade in Messina he won silver in the same event. He was the first Israeli athlete to win any medal at the Universiade.

In 1999 he won another Universiade silver in Palma de Mallorca and a silver medal at the European Championships in Istanbul, with new Israeli records. In March 2000 he won bronze in the 400 m individual medley at the Short Course World Championships in Athens. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics he placed 11th in that event.

He held Israeli titles and records in several medley, butterfly and freestyle events. He also won gold medals at the Maccabiah Games in 1997, 2005 and 2009. In October 2021 he became chairman of the Israel Swimming Association.