Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Eden Girloanta to compete at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships
04/30/2019 | 2:28:00 | Swimming & Diving
Southern Illinois freshman swimmer Eden Girloanta is slated to represent her home country of Israel at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships from July 12-28 in Gwangju, South Korea. Girloanta, a member of the Israel's national swimming team, will compete in the 5,000-kilometer swim, 10,000-kilometer swim and 5,000-kilometer relay.Â
"We are excited that Eden is going to have the chance to compete at the world-championship level," head coach Rick Walker said. "Although Eden is representing Israel, she is also representing SIU."
Girloanta joined Southern in the spring semester of 2019 and has competed for Israel in national and junior national events for the past five years. This will be her second-straight appearance at the championship event, which occurs every two years. At the 2017 World Aquatics Championships, she placed 36th in the women's 5K with a time of 1:02:06.10 and 15th as a member of the women's mixed 5K relay (58:20.70).Â
"When I was 16 competing at the championships, I didn't think I could achieve any big-time results," Girloanta said. "I was there just for the experience and tried to do the best that I could against some of the best open water swimmers in the world. For the upcoming championships, I think I am at a higher level and can perform much better."
Girloanta is coming off a successful start to her collegiate career in the pool. At the 2019 Missouri Valley Conference Championships, Girloanta was one of the highest scoring swimmers for SIU, as she swam to second place in the 1,650-yard freestyle (17:02.90) and third place in the 500-yard freestyle (4:57.91).Â
In preparation for the championships, Girloanta plans to spend the bulk of her summer at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Co.Â
"It is exciting that she will carry on the open water tradition from our distance swimmers here at Southern," Walker said. "It should be an exciting time for her and everyone here at SIU is looking forward to see what she can do."
Â
Players Mentioned
