Israeli swimmer Gal Nevo came first in the men's 200m individual medley heat Wednesday in Beijing, smashing the old Israeli record by three seconds and securing a spot in Thursday's semifinal. Nevo had already made the semifinals in the men's 400m individual medley, where he was placed 11th.

Israeli swimmers Anya Gostmelsky and Itai Chama were unable to make it past the qualification heats in their respective races.
Gostmelsky, who swam in the women's 100-meter backstroke and 100-meter butterfly set a personal best at 0:55:16 and ranked 22nd overall; while Chama, who took part in the men's 200-meter backstroke heat, came in at 2:00:93m and was ranked 27th.

Israeli Fencer Tomer Or lost his first match in the Beijing Olympics Wednesday. Or lost to Canada's Josh McGuire, who is ranked 13 in the world.

So far Israeli players have failed to win an Olympic medal, but hopes remain high for remaining Israeli athletes who have yet to compete.

Four losses in four matches on Tuesday ended Israel's participation in the Beijing Olympic tennis tournament. Andy Ram and Yoni Erlich were knocked out of the tournament in just one minute of play on Tuesday. The Israeli duo, which was seeded third in the event and was one of the delegation's favorites for a medal, lost 4-6, 4-6, failing to break Michael Llodra and Arnaud Clement in the one and only game to be played on the day.

Shahar Pe'er's and Tzipi Obziler's Olympics were also brought to an end on Tuesday after both lost their singles matches and then teamed-up to be knocked out in the doubles. Pe'er, who claimed Israel's only win of the Olympic tournament on Monday, lost 3-6, 6-7 (4) to ninth seed Vera Zvonareva in a high level second round match.

Meanwhile US swimmer Michael Phelps swam into history Wednesday as the Olympic athlete to win the most golds ever with his 10th career gold medal - and fourth world record of the Beijing Games.08/13/08