Shelly Bobritsky (; born 27 June 2001) is an Israeli Olympic swimmer who competes in

Artistic swimming Synchronized swimming (in British English, synchronised swimming), also known as artistic swimming, is a sport where swimmers perform a synchronized choreographed routine, accompanied by music. The sport is governed internationally by World Aq ...

. She competed in the

2020 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 duet, was the European Champion in the free combination event in 2023, and was a three-time European medalist as well as a two-time European Cup bronze medalist. Bobritsky represented Israel at the 2024 Paris Olympics in artistic swimming women's duet with Ariel Nassee, and the pair came in 11th.

Early life

Bobritsky was born in and lives in

Rehovot Rehovot (, / ) is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. In it had a population of . Etymology Israel Belkind, founder of the Bilu (movement), Bilu movement, proposed the name "Rehovot ...

, Israel. She is the eldest daughter in a family of three children, with a brother Nir and a younger sister Michal. She graduated high school with majors in chemistry and communication.

Artistic swimming career

Bobritsky first entered a swimming pool when she was seven months old, and has been engaged in artistic swimming since the age of five years old. At 11 years of age, she began competing for Israel's junior team, and in the 11th grade she became a member of Israel's senior team.

2018–19

In March 2018, at 16 years of age, at the

FINA World Aquatics, formerly known as FINA (; ), is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administering international competitions in List of water sports, water sports. It is one of several interna ...

Artistic Swimming Synchronized swimming (in British English, synchronised swimming), also known as artistic swimming, is a sport where swimmers perform a synchronized choreographed routine, accompanied by music. The sport is governed internationally by World Aq ...

World Series 2018 in Paris, France, Bobritsky 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 ...

in the Women Team Highlight. In May 2018 at the FINA Artistic Swimming World Series 2018 in Budapest, Hungary, she won 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 Women Team Highlight, and bronze medals in the Women Team Free and the Women Team Free Combination. In March 2019 at the FINA Artistic Swimming World Series 2019 in Paris, France, Bobritsky won a silver medal in the Women Team Free Combination, and bronze medals in the Women Team Free, Women Team Highlight, and Women Team Technical. In April 2019 at the FINA Artistic Swimming World Series 2019 in

Alexandroupolis Alexandroupolis (, ) or Alexandroupoli (, ) is a city in Greece and the capital of the Evros (regional unit), Evros regional unit. It is the largest city in Greek Thrace and the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, with a population of 71,75 ...

, Greece, she won a

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 Women Team Free Combination and a bronze medal in the Women Team Free.

2020–21

In 2020 at the French Open artistic swimming championship in Paris, Bobritsky and

Eden Blecher Eden Blecher (; born 27 November 1997) is an Israeli swimmer. 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics Blecher represented Israel in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event ...

ranked fifth overall in the free duet and seventh in the technical duet. On April 11, 2021, at the FINA Artistic Swimming World Series 2021 in Budapest, Hungary, she won bronze medals in the Women Duet Free, the Women Duet Technical, and the Women Team Free. In May 2021 at the 2021 European Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Bobritsky won a bronze medal with Team Israel in the team free routine.

2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics (in 2021)

In August 2021, Bobritsky represented

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 ...

with Eden Blecher in the Tokyo

2020 Tokyo 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 ...

Women's duet artistic swimming. They finished in 15th position and did not advance to the finals.

2022

In April 2022 at the FINA Artistic Swimming World Series 2022 in Paris, France, Bobritsky won a gold medal in the Women Team Free Combination, a silver medal in the Women Duet Free, and bronze medals in the Women Team Technical, Women Team Free, and Women Duet Technical. In May 2022 at the FINA Artistic Swimming World Series 2022 in Australia, she won a gold medal in the Mixed Team Free Combination, silver medals in the Women Duet Free, Women Team Free, and Women Duet Technical, and a bronze medal in the Women Team Technical. Later in May 2022 at the FINA Artistic Swimming World Series 2022 - Super Final in Athens, Greece, Bobritsky won a gold medal in the Women Team Free, silver medals in the Mixed Team Free Combination and the Women Team Technical, and bronze medals in the Women Duet Free and the Mixed Team Highlight/Acrobatic. In August 2022 at the European Championships in Rome, Italy, she won a silver medal in the Women Team Free Combination.

2023; European Games gold medal

In March 2023 at the

World Aquatics World Aquatics, formerly known as FINA (; ), is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administering international competitions in List of water sports, water sports. It is one of several interna ...

Artistic Swimming World Cup in

Markham, Canada Markham () is a city in York Region, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately northeast of Downtown Toronto. In the 2021 Census, Markham had a population of 338,503, which ranked it the largest in York Region, fourth largest in the Greater Toront ...

, Bobritsky and Ariel Nassee won the Women's Duet Technical gold medal and a Duet Free bronze medal, and she won a bronze medal in the team technical. On May 7, 2023, at the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup 2023 in the team free she won a silver medal in

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

, France. In June 2023, at the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup 2023 Super Final in

Oviedo, Spain Oviedo () or Uviéu (Asturian language, Asturian: ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains th ...

, in the Women Duet Free she won a gold medal, and in the Technical Duet event, Bobritsky and fellow Israeli Ariel Nassee won the gold medal with 225.7915 points. Bobritsky said: "We knew we could win the gold. We are fighting for a medal, so we brought everything we had into this moment. We were focused." Also in June 2023, at the Artistic swimming at the 2023 European Games – Free routine combination in Oswiecim, Poland, she and Team Israel won the gold medal, and two days later in the team free routine they won the bronze medal, as in the duet free routine Bobritsky won the bronze medal with Ariel Nassee. On July 5, 2023, she won a silver medal in the team free at the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup 2023 in France with a personal best score of 356.3647.

2024–present

On April 7, 2024, Bobritsky won a gold medal with Ariel Nassee in the Women's Duet Free at the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup 2024 in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, China.

2024 Paris Olympics

Bobritsky represented Israel at the 2024 Paris Olympics in artistic swimming women's-duet with Ariel Nassee at the

Paris Aquatic Centre The Paris Olympic Aquatic Centre (French: Centre aquatique olympique) is an aquatic centre located in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis, France that hosted numerous aquatic sporting events for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Locate ...

. The pair came in 11th, in Israel’s best-ever finish in the sport."Israeli artistic swimming duo finish in 11th place at Paris Olympics duet event,"
''The Times of Israel''. They wore

yellow ribbon The yellow ribbon is used for various purposes. It may be worn on a person, placed on a vehicle, around a tree, or for a neck tie. History and etymology "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" Yellow is the official color of the armor branch of the U.S ...

s in their hair as they swam, for the hostages being held in Gaza, and used music titled "Shalom Aleichem/October 7th/Hai."

Career highlights

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bobritsky, Shelly 2001 births Living people Synchronized swimmers at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships Artistic swimmers at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships Artistic swimmers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Artistic swimmers at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships Artistic swimmers at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships Artistic swimmers at the 2023 European Games Artistic swimmers at the 2024 Summer Olympics European Games bronze medalists for Israel European Games gold medalists for Israel European Games medalists in synchronised swimming European Aquatics Championships medalists in synchronised swimming Israeli synchronized swimmers Olympic synchronized swimmers for Israel Sportspeople from Rehovot 21st-century Israeli sportswomen