Aviv Barzelay

Early life Barzelay was born and raised in Mitzpe Aviv, Israel, in the Galilee, to a Jewish family. Her parents are Mirit (a former nurse who works in nursing department management at Rambam Hospital in Haifa) and Yuval (who manages food factories).

Early career By the time she was three months old, Barzelay had already learned to swim. She attended the Wingate Institute in 2017-18. In August 2019, at the 2019 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships in Budapest, Hungary, she came in 8th in the 200 L back with a time of 2:14.37. In November 2019, she won the gold medal in the Kevin Perry Senior Invitational in La Mirada, California, in the 100 L back with a time of 1:03.50, and a bronze medal in the 100 Y back with a time of 55.32 against 231 competitors. In December 2019, she won the silver medal in the Swim Cup Amsterdam in the Netherlands, in the 200 LCM back, with a time of 2:13.44, behind gold medal winner África Zamorano of Spain.

In July 2020 in Netanya, Israel, Barzelay competed in the 2020 Coronavirus Days Competition. She swam the women’s 100m backstroke in a time of 59.42 in the short course race to win the gold medal, becoming Israel’s first-ever youth swimmer to break the minute barrier, surpassing the previous national junior record of 1:00.15 that Anastasia Gorbenko had set in 2018. In August 2020, she set a new Israeli national record in the women’s 200m back with a time of 2:06.97.

In December 2020, Barzelay won the silver medal in the Rotterdam Qualification Meet in the Netherlands, in the 200 L with a time of 2:12.78, 0.83 seconds behind gold medal winner Lena Grabowski of Austria.

2020 Tokyo Olympics Barzelay was invited to represent Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics after breaking the Israeli record in the 200-meter backstroke event in a championship in Rome, and achieving the FINA ‘B’ cut in the 200 backstroke. She competed in the Women's 200m backstroke event, and swam it in 2:11.13, qualifying for the semi-finals, where she came in 15th with a time of 2:12.93.

College years 2021–22; Israeli national championships Barzelay is a student at Texas A&M University, where she studies business administration, and a member of its Aggies swimming team. In June 2021 at the Internazionali di Nuoto - 58 Settecolli in Rome, Italy, at 19 years of age she won the silver medal in the 200 back with a time of 2:10.76, two seconds behind Italian former 3-time European champion Margherita Panziera. She split 1:03.32/1:07.44, breaking the previous Israeli record of 2:10.86 established by Anastasia Gorbenko earlier in the year.

In 2021–22, in her freshman year, at the NCAA Championships Barzelay finished sixth in the 200 back (1:53.77), and 17th in the 100 back (53.06), while also competing on the 200 and 400 medley relay teams at her first SEC Championships. That month she also competed at the Israel Swimming Cup in Netanya, and won the 200 backstroke in a 2:11.46. In June 2022 she came in 9th at the 19th FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, in the 200 L back with a time of 2:10.42. In August 2022 at the 2022 Israeli Summer Championships she won gold medals in the backstroke with times of 29.02 in the 50m, 1:01.62 in the 100m, and 2:12.39 in the 200m.

2023–present; European U23 Championship and Israeli national championships In her sophomore year, at the 2023 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships in the 100 back Barzelay swam 53.45.

At the 2023 European U23 Championships held in August in Dublin, Ireland, Barzelay won the gold medal in the 200L back with a time of 2:11.35.

In 2023–24, in her junior year, at the 2024 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships, Barzelay had a time of 53.28 in the 100 back.

In June 2024 at the 2024 Israeli Olympic Trials at the Wingate Institute in Netanya, Barzelay qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics as she set a new personal best in the women’s 200m backstroke with a time of 2:09.63. She said: "In these difficult days I just want to wish for the return of all the abductees, and for all our soldiers to return safely." Time Medal Pool Length Age* Competition Comp Country Date Women 100 Freestyle 50.52 25m Art Adamson Invitational USA 11/19/2021 Women 200 Freestyle 1:48.21 25m SEC Championships USA 2/16/2023 Women 50 Backstroke 28.98 25m LEN European Short Course Swimming Championships Scotland 12/7/2019 Women 100 Backstroke 53.06 25m SEC Championships (21-22) USA 2022 Women 200 Backstroke 1:52.89 25m SEC Championships USA 2/24/2024 Women 200 Medley 2:02.38 25m Texas A&M vs. Houston vs. Southern Methodist USA 2/25/2022 Women 50 Freestyle 26.97 50m Art Adamson Invitational USA 11/15/2023 Women 100 Freestyle 57.44 50m Israel National Summer Trial and Championships Israel 6/14/2021 Women 200 Freestyle 2:05.34 50m 2022 GU Aggieland April LC Invitational USA 4/23/2022 Women 50 Backstroke 29.35 50m Trofeu Internacional Ciutat de Barcelona / Mare Nostrum Spain 5/25/2022 Women 100 Backstroke 1:01.61 50m TYR Pro Swim Series - San Antonio USA 4/1/2022 Women 200 Backstroke 2:10.42 50m 19th FINA World Championships Hungary 6/23/2022 Women 50 Butterfly 30.66 50m TYR Pro Swim Series Greensboro USA 11/9/2019 Women 200 Medley 2:21.99 Bronze 50m Israel Cup Israel 4/3/2019 Women 4x100 Medley Relay 4:14.63 50m European Junior Swimming Championships 2019 Russia 7/5/2019