Meiron Cheruti Clocks 21.60 50 Free Israeli National Record To Close Out World Trials

2025 UNION CUP/ISRAELI WORLD TRIALS

• Wednesday, May 14th – Saturday, May 17th
• Wingate Institute, Netanya, Israel
• LCM (50m)
• Day 1 Recap
• Start Lists/Results

The 2025 Union Cup/Israeli World Championship Trials saw its final day of action unfold tonight from the Wingate Institute, but not before Meiron Cheruti wreaked havoc on the record board.

Racing in the men’s 50m freestyle event this morning, Cheruti fired off a lifetime best of 21.70 to capture the top seed in the sole sub-22 second result of the field.

The 27-year-old’s morning swim overtook his own previous Israeli national record of 21.84 logged at last year’s edition of this competition.

Come tonight’s final, however, Cheruti had more in the tank, dropping his record down to a head-turning swim of 21.60.

He beat the field by a comfortable margin as the sole sub-22-second swimmer once again.

Cheruti’s 21.60 lifetime best and Israeli standard handily cleared the World Aquatics ‘A’ standard of 22.05 needed to qualify for this summer’s World Championships in Singapore.

Furthermore, the veteran now ranks 4th in the world on the season. If he keeps this up in Singapore, he may have a shot at a minor medal. Great Britain’s Ben Proud took 2024 World Championships bronze in 21.53 while he earned the same slot a year earlier in 21.58.

Additional winners on the final day of action included University of Michigan commit Alexey Glivinskiy grabbing men’s 200m free gold in 1:47.10, just two days after registering a lifetime best of 48.43 in the 100m free.

His time checked in as another career-quickest standard, obliterating the 1:49.06 put on the books last year in Eindhoven.

Glivinskiy doubled up with a gold medal in the men’s 200m IM, turning in a time of 1:58.91 as yet another impressive lifetime best performance.

Entering this competition, Glivinskiy had been as swift as 2:01.74 in his career, so he blasted that to bits with his 1:58.91 as the first time under 2:00. His time dipped under the World Aquatics ‘A’ cut of 1:59.05 needed for Singapore.

Finally, Tomer Shuster logged a gold medal-worthy swim of 24.98 in the men’s 50m back, dipping under the World Aquatics ‘A’ standard of 25.11 in the process.

Shuster’s 24.98 result represented his first-ever foray under the 25-second barrier, outperforming the 25.13 registered at last year’s Israeli Championships.