Andrea "Andi" Murez (; born 29 January 1992) is an Olympic

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 ...

. Born in the United States, she represents Israel internationally and competed for her country of birth in the past. She swam for

Israel at the 2016 Summer Olympics Israel competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. It was the nation's sixteenth appearance at the Summer Olympics. The Olympic Committee of Israel confirmed a team of 47 athletes, 22 men and 25 wom ...

and the 2020 Summer Olympics. She represented Israel for the third time at the 2024 Paris Olympics where she was one of the flag bearers together with the Olympic judoka

Peter Paltchik Peter Paltchik (; ; born 4 January 1992) is a Ukrainian-born Israelis, Israeli Olympic and former European champion judoka, competing in the under 100 kg weight category, of which he was the number 1 ranked judoka in the world. Paltchik won ...

. She represented the

United States at the 2013 Summer Universiade The United States competed at the 2013 Summer Universiade in Kazan, Russia, in July 2013. Medalists Athletics The United States will be represented in athletics. Men ;Track & road events ;Field events Women ;Track & road events ;Fie ...

Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...

, Russia, where she was a 4 × 200 m freestyle

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

ist and a 4 × 100 m freestyle

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

ist. Murez is also a

Maccabiah Games The Maccabiah Games (, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics") is an international multi-sport event with summer and winter sports competitions featuring Jews and Israelis regardless of religion ...

champion, and Maccabiah record holder, as well as an Israeli national record holder. She has won 17 medals at the Maccabiah Games, 12 of them gold. Murez holds the Israeli national records in the 100 m and 200 m freestyle.

Early life and education

Andrea Murez was born on 29 January 1992, to Melanie (Goodman) Murez, who runs a language translation company (Language.net), and Jim Murez, a computer consultant and contractor who runs the Venice Farmers' Market. Her father also swam competitively in high school and in his freshman year of college. She is

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, and was raised in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Her paternal grandfather, Joe Murez, grew up in pre-WWII

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

on the

Danube River The Danube ( ; see also other names) is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea. A large and historically important riv ...

, swam competitively for the Jewish

Hakoah Vienna SC Hakoah Vienna (; ' means "the strength" in Hebrew) is a Jewish sports club in Vienna, Austria. Prior to World War II, it produced several Olympic athletes and was notable for fielding an entirely Jewish association football team with players ...

Sports Club in the 1930s, and related how during

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

’s

annexation of Austria The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany") arose after the 1871 unifica ...

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

would gather around the pool to beat up

Jewish swimmers This list of Jewish athletes in sports contains athletes who are Jews, Jewish and have attained outstanding achievements in sports. The topic of Jewish participation in sports is discussed extensively in academic and popular literature. Sport ...

. He immigrated to the United States in 1938, serving in the U.S. Army Intelligence Corps. He then became one of the largest garlic growers in the world, and ultimately was the one to introduce his granddaughter Andi to swimming. Her father's stepfather,

Raymond Federman Raymond Federman (May 15, 1928 – October 6, 2009) was a French–American novelist and academic, known also for poetry, essays, translations, and criticism. He held positions at the University at Buffalo from 1973 to 1999, when he was app ...

, who was also Jewish, was 14 years old when his parents hid him in a small stairway landing closet as

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

arrived at the family home in

Nazi-occupied France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...

. His family was taken away, and his parents and two sisters were killed in the

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

. Federman hid from the Nazis on farms in southern France during the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. He later became a leading backstroker on the French national team, and emigrated to the U.S. in 1947, where he became an English professor, an expert on author

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish writer of novels, plays, short stories, and poems. Writing in both English and French, his literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal, and Tragicomedy, tra ...

, and a novelist. Murez's brother, Zachary (Zak), who is older than her by three years, set five swim records at Venice High School. He won 10 medals (four of them gold) in the 2003 Pan-American Maccabi Games in

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, and then swam for the Yale University swim team, before studying for a master's degree in computer science at UC San Diego. Murez attended Venice High School, in Los Angeles, California, graduating in 2009. In high school, she was on the national honor roll. She also attended

Hebrew school Hebrew school is Jewish education focusing on topics of Jewish history, learning the Hebrew language, and finally learning one's Torah Portion, in preparation for the ceremony in Judaism of entering adulthood, known as a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Heb ...

at Mishkon Tephilo in Venice, Los Angeles. She attended

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

on a swimming scholarship, majoring in

human biology Human biology is an interdisciplinary area of academic study that examines humans through the influences and interplay of many diverse fields such as genetics, evolution, physiology, anatomy, epidemiology, anthropology, ecology, nutrition, populat ...

, and intends to eventually pursue a career in biology. Murez

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in 2014. She resides in

Netanya Netanya () () or Natanya (), is a city in the "Planet Bekasi" Central District (Israel), Setanyahu of Israel, Israel BAB ih, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between the Poleg stre ...

, Israel, at the

Wingate Institute Wingate Institute (), officially Orde Wingate Institute for Physical Education and Sports (), is a sports training institute located south of Netanya, Israel. History Wingate Institute was established in 1957. It was named after Orde Wingate. ...

, with other Israeli swimmers. She is a graduate of

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

Medical School.

Swimming career

High school

Swimming for the Venice High School Gondoliers, Murez won eight City Section individual championships and set four City records. In the Los Angeles City Finals in May 2008, she set the city’s record for the 100 freestyle. That year she also qualified for the U.S. Olympic trials. As a senior in the Spring of 2009, Murez won the 100-yard freestyle in a Los Angeles record time of 49.63. She also broke the 200-yard freestyle record, and holds the section records in the 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard backstroke. She was named the team's Most Valuable Player for four years, was team captain her senior year, was an eight-time

CIF CIF, c.i.f. or Cif may refer to: Finance * Climate Investment Funds, in international climate change agreements * Community Infrastructure Fund (CIF), a method of UK government funding for transport infrastructure * Cost, Insurance and Freight, ...

sectional champion, and set four CIF sectional records. Murez also swam for the Santa Monica Swim Club Team from 1999 to 2009. The

Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, in Beverly Hills, California, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring American Jews, American Jewish athletes, other sports personalities, and teams from Southern California who have distingui ...

named her the 2010 Female Jewish High School Athlete of the Year.

College

She swam for the

Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the college athletics in the United States, athletic teams that represent Stanford University. Stanford's program has won 138 National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA team championships, the List of NCAA schools ...

, and was a three-time

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. In March 2012 during her junior year, Murez and three Stanford teammates set the U.S. record for the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:10.77) while winning the 2012 NCAA Swimming Championships. They also won the NCAA title in the 200 freestyle relay. In March 2013, at the 2013 Pac-12 Women's Championships, she came in second in the 200 yard freestyle (1:44.42), and third in the 100 yard freestyle (47.86). Swimming for the

in July 2013, she won a gold medal in the Women's 4 × 200 m freestyle relay (7:55.53), a silver medal in the Women's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay (3:38.60), and a bronze medal in the Women's 4 × 100 m medley relay.

For Israel

Murez was the first Israeli swimmer to finish the 200 m freestyle in less than two minutes. In the summer of 2015, Murez set the Israeli national record in the long course 200 m freestyle, at 1:59.03. She also set the Israeli national record in the long course 100 m freestyle, at 54.40. In December 2015, at the 2015 European Short Course Swimming Championships at the

, Israel, Murez set a new Israeli record of 1:56.34 in the 200 m, breaking by over two seconds the 4-year-old record that

Amit Ivry Amit Ivry (; born September 2, 1989, in Eilat, Israel) is an Israeli Olympic swimmer, Maccabiah Games champion, and national record holder. She competes in the butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and medley. Ivry won a gold medal at the 2009 ...

had set at the 2011 Israeli Winter Championships. She also set a new Israeli record in the 100m freestyle, at 52.88. In May 2016, Murez competed in the

2016 European Aquatics Championships The 2016 European Aquatics Championships took place from 9 to 22 May 2016 in London, United Kingdom, in the London Aquatics Centre. It was the thirty second edition of the event, and the second held in the same year as a Summer Olympics. Hosts Gr ...

, placing 5th in the 100 m freestyle (54.89; directly behind the world record holder in the 200 m freestyle,

Sarah Sjöström Sarah Fredrika Sjöström (; born 17 August 1993) is a Swedish competitive Swimming (sport), swimmer specialising in the sprint Freestyle swimming, freestyle and Butterfly stroke, butterfly events and one of the most decorated swimmers of all ti ...

of Sweden), 13th in the 200 m freestyle (1:59.91), and 15th in the 50 m freestyle (25.26). On 3 July 2024, Murez was designated as Israel's flag bearer at the

2024 Paris Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

, alongside

judoka is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

Maccabiah Games

At the

2009 Maccabiah Games The 18th Maccabiah Games (), were held in July 2009. According to the organizing committee these were the largest games held yet. These Games were the world's fifth-largest sporting event, behind the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, World Poli ...

in Israel, States Murez won nine medals (five gold and four silver) swimming for the United. She broke all-time Maccabiah Games records while winning gold medals in four individual events: 50 m freestyle (26.44); 100 m freestyle (0:56.44); 200 m freestyle (2:03:45); and 200 m Individual Medley (2:20.74). She set Maccabiah Games records in the 50 m, 100 m, and 200 m freestyle. She earned her 5th gold medal anchoring the USA 4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay team, which set an all-time Maccabiah Games record (3:53:55). Her four silver medals were in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay, 4 × 100 m Medley Relay, 100 m backstroke, and the 200 m backstroke. She competed again in the

2013 Maccabiah Games The 19th Maccabiah () were held during July 18 to 30, 2013. The Games brought together 7,500 competing athletes, making it the third-largest international sporting event in the world after the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup. The Maccabiah he ...

, winning five gold medals (including the 100 m free, in 55.09) and two silver medals while setting a number of swimming records swimming for the United States. She received the 2013 Maccabiah Games Most Outstanding Athlete Award for Women. In total, as of 2013 she had won 15 Maccabiah Games medals, including 10 gold medals. At the

2017 Maccabiah Games The 2017 Maccabiah Games (), also referred to as the 20th Maccabiah Games (), were the 20th edition of the Maccabiah Games. They took place from 4 to 17 July 2017, in Israel. The Maccabiah Games are open to Jewish athletes from around the world ...

, competing as an Israeli, Murez won the women’s 100m freestyle, with a time of 55.15 seconds, and set a new Games record as she also won the 200m freestyle in 1:59.80.">"Murez Picks Up 2nd Gold Of Maccabiah Games With 1:59 200 Free,"
''SwimSwam Magazine''.

Olympics

Murez was the first Israeli woman to qualify for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

, her first Olympic Games. On 17 April 2015, she qualified for the 50-meter freestyle event with a time of 25.12 seconds. Four months later, on 13 August, she qualified for the 100-meter event. She swam for

. Ill with

sinusitis Sinusitis, also known as rhinosinusitis, is an inflammation of the mucous membranes that line the sinuses resulting in symptoms that may include production of thick nasal mucus, nasal congestion, facial congestion, facial pain, facial pressure ...

, she withdrew from the 100 m backstroke and 200 m freestyle heats, as she tried to recover in time for the 50 m and 100 m freestyle heats. In the Women's 100 m freestyle heat she came in 30th with a time of 55.47.

Honors

In 2016, Murez was inducted into the

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Murez, Andrea 1992 births Living people Israeli female swimmers Israeli Ashkenazi Jews American people of Austrian-Jewish descent Israeli people of Austrian-Jewish descent American people of French-Jewish descent Israeli people of French-Jewish descent Jews from California American expatriate sportspeople in Israel Jewish swimmers American Ashkenazi Jews American emigrants to Israel Olympic swimmers for Israel Maccabiah Games medalists in swimming Maccabiah Games gold medalists for the United States Maccabiah Games gold medalists for Israel Maccabiah Games silver medalists for the United States Competitors at the 2009 Maccabiah Games Competitors at the 2013 Maccabiah Games Competitors at the 2017 Maccabiah Games Sportspeople from Netanya Stanford Cardinal women's swimmers Summer World University Games medalists in swimming FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States FISU World University Games silver medalists for the United States Medalists at the 2013 Summer Universiade Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2024 Summer Olympics Venice High School (Los Angeles) alumni 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American sportswomen 21st-century Israeli sportswomen