Denis Loktev (; born 6 April 2000) is an Israeli 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 ...

. He won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

at the

2018 Youth Olympic Games The 2018 Summer Youth Olympics (), officially known as the III Summer Youth Olympic Games, and commonly known as Buenos Aires 2018, were an international sports, cultural, and educational event held from 6 to 18 October 2018 in Buenos Aires, A ...

in the men's 200m freestyle, as well as the 2018 European Junior Swimming Championship in the men's 4x200m freestyle. He competed at the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

for Israel in the 200m freestyle, and represented Israel at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the 200 metre freestyle, 4×100 metre freestyle relay, and 4×200 metre freestyle relay.

Early and personal life

Loktev was born in Ashdod, Israel where he continued to reside. On 7 October 2023, in the

2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel On October 7, 2023, Hamas and several other Palestinians, Palestinian militant groups launched coordinated armed incursions from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of southern Israel, the first invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 ...

, his family in Ashdod was hit by rocket barrages from Gaza in the

7 October attacks On October 7, 2023, Hamas and several other Palestinian militant groups launched coordinated armed incursions from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of southern Israel, the first invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 Arab–Israeli ...

Swimming career

Loktev started swimming when he was six years old, in the Maccabi Ashdod Association, swimming twice a week, and began swimming daily by the age of seven. He has competed in the 100m freestyle, 100m

medley Medley or Medleys may refer to: Sports *Medley swimming, races requiring multiple swimming styles * Medley relay races at track meets Music *Medley (music), multiple pieces strung together People *Medley (surname), list of people with this nam ...

, 200m free, 400m free, 4x100m free, 4x100m free mixed, 4x200m free, 4x200m free, and 4x50m free. He trained 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. ...

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, and his primary club in Israel has been the Maccabi Ashdod.

2016–20 International competition highlights

In July 2016, Loktev won a

at the 2016 European Junior Swimming Championships in

Hódmezővásárhely Hódmezővásárhely (; also known by other alternative names) is a city with county rights in southeast Hungary, on the Great Hungarian Plain, at the meeting point of the Békés-Csanádi Ridge and the clay grassland surrounding the river Tisz ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, in the men's 4x200m freestyle. In June 2017, he won a bronze medal at the 2017 European Junior Swimming Championships in

Netanya, Israel Netanya () () or Natanya (), is a city in the "Planet Bekasi" Setanyahu of 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 stream and the Wingate Institute in ...

, in the men's 4x200m free. In July 2017 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 ...

he won the

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 ...

in the men’s 200m free. In July 2018, he won a gold medal at the

2018 European Junior Swimming Championships The 2018 European Junior Swimming Championships were held from 4 to 8 July 2018 in Helsinki, Finland. The Championships were organized by LEN, the European Swimming League, and were held in a 50-meter pool. The Championships were for girls aged 14 ...

Helsinki, Finland Helsinki () is the capital and most populous city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipality, with million in the capital region and ...

, in the men's 4x200m freestyle, and a

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, ...

in the 200m freestyle with a 1:47.95. In October 2018 Loktev won a

at the

in the men's 200m freestyle. In March 2019, Loktev won the 400m freestyle with a 3:52.40 and the 200 Longcourse freestyle with a 1:48.67 at the 2019 Fédération Française de Natation Golden Tour

Camille Muffat Camille Muffat (; 28 October 1989 – 9 March 2015) was a French Swimming (sport), swimmer and three-time Summer Olympic Games, Olympic Olympic medal, medalist. Swimming for the Olympic Nice Natation club, she specialised in the individual medl ...

Marseille, France Marseille (; ; see below) is a city in southern France, the prefecture of the department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the Provence region, it is located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, ...

. In April 2019, he set a new Israeli national record in the 400m free with a 3:51.45 at the Stockholm Open. The same month he won a silver medal at the Israel Cup in the 200m free, with a 1:48.47. In May 2019 at the 2019

Speedo Speedo International Limited is an Australian-British distributor of Swimsuit, swimwear and swim-related accessories based in Nottingham, England. Founded in Sydney, Australia in 1914 by Alexander MacRae, a Scottish emigrant, the company is n ...

Grand Challenge in

Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, planned city in central Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was named in 1888 for the landowner James Irvine. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the ...

, he won a silver medal in the 400m free super-final, at 3:54.50, and a bronze medal in the 200 L Fly, in a time of 2:03.75. In July 2019 he competed in the men's 400 metre freestyle at the

2019 World Aquatics Championships The 2019 World Aquatics Championships were the 18th FINA World Aquatics Championships, held in Gwangju, South Korea from 12 to 28 July 2019. The city had previously hosted the 2015 Summer Universiade aquatics events in the same venues.

. In December 2019 at Swim Cup Amsterdam in the Netherlands, he won a silver medal in the 200 L Free in a time of 1:48.64, and a bronze medal in the 400 L Free in a time of 3:53.56.

2020 Tokyo Olympics (in 2021)

Loktev competed at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

in July 2021 in Tokyo in the 200m freestyle where he finished 27th. His time was 1:47.68, as he missed making the semi-finals by 1.42 seconds.

University of Louisville 2018-2021

Loktev attended the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

, and swam for the

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

under Head Coach Arthur Albiero. In his freshman season, Loktev finished 8th at the 2022 NCAA Championships in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, Georgia, in the 800 freestyle relay (1:33.16). At the ACC Conference Championships, Loktev led his team to a second-place finish in the 800 freestyle relay (1:33.28).

2023 World Aquatics Championship; Israeli record

He qualified for the 2023 World Championships in the 200m freestyle for Israel, and set a new Israeli national record as he won the gold medal in the June 2023 Israeli Championships in the event with a 1:46.17; through June, Loktev was the 15th-fastest swimmer at that distance in the world in 2023. At the championships he also won a gold medal in the 200m butterfly with a time of 2:00.55, and a silver medal in the 100m freestyle in a new personal best time of 48.54 seconds.

2022 European Championships, 2023 NCAA Championships

As a Louisville sophomore, at the 2023 NCAA Championships in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, Loktev swam the second leg of the 800 Free Relay, splitting 1:33.07 as the team swam a 6:12.25. At the ACC Championships, he won a silver medal as part of the 800 Free Relay team with a 6:11.26 -- the third-fastest time in school history. At the

2022 European Championships The 2022 European Championships were the second edition of the European Championships (multi-sport event), European Championships. It was a multi-sport event which took place in Munich, Germany from 11 to 21 August 2022. The event started three d ...

in Rome, Loktev was a part of the Israeli 4x200 freestyle relay team that finished 5th. He also helped the 4x200 freestyle mixed relay finish sixth in the finals with a leadoff split of 1:47.66 as the team posted a 7:38.45.

2024 European Aquatics Championships

At the June 2024 European Aquatics Championships, Loktev teamed in the 200x4 freestyle with

Bar Soloveychik Bar Soloveychik (; born August 15, 2000) is an Israeli swimmer. He holds the Israeli national records in both the 400m freestyle, and the 800m free. At the 2018 European Junior Swimming Championships, he won a gold medal as part of Israel's 4×2 ...

, Eitan Ben Shetrit, and

Gal Cohen Groumi Gal Cohen Groumi (; born 22 April 2002) is an Israeli Olympic swimmer. At the 2017 European Youth Olympics he won two silver medals in medley relay, at the 2018 European Junior Swimming Championships he won a gold medal in the 4×200 m freesty ...

and they finished 19 hundredths of a second from a bronze medal, as they came in fourth with a time of 7:09.92 minutes. As of June 2024 his long course personal best in the 100m free was 48.54 in October 2023, and in the 200m free was 1:46.17 in September 2023.

2024 Paris Olympics

Loktev represented Israel at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the 200 metre freestyle, 4×100 metre freestyle relay, and 4×200 metre freestyle relay. He said that in the wake of the 7 October attacks: "We must do everything so that in the summer we can represent the country in the best possible way on the biggest stage in the world, the Olympic Games in Paris, and this is what gives me the motivation to train with all my might every day."

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Loktev, Denis 2000 births Living people Competitors at the 2017 Maccabiah Games Israeli male freestyle swimmers Israeli male swimmers Louisville Cardinals men's swimmers Olympic swimmers for Israel Place of birth missing (living people) Maccabiah Games medalists in swimming Maccabiah Games gold medalists for Israel Sportspeople from Ashdod Swimmers at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2024 Summer Olympics Wingate Institute alumni 21st-century Israeli sportsmen