 Gal Cohen Groumi in 2019 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Born | 22 April 2002 Hod HaSharon, Israel[2] |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Strokes | IM, butterfly, freestyle |
| College team | Michigan Wolverines swimming and diving |
| Coach | Luca Gavrilo[1] Mike Bottom, Mat Bowe (U of M) |
Gal Cohen Groumi (Hebrew: גל כהן גרומי; born 22 April 2002) is an Israeli swimmer.[3]
Cohen Groumi was born in Hod HaSharon, Israel, to a family of Jewish background.[2] His uncle is Israeli former Olympic swimmer Eran (Cohen) Groumi.[2] He started swimming classes around the age of ten, and was active in martial arts, particularly Judo and Capoeira. Gal attended Mosenson Preparatory School for High School in Hod Hasharon outside Tel Aviv.[1]
In October 2018, he competed in the Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina, finishing 4th in the 200 meter individual medley, an event that would remain a strength.[4]
At the 2019 European Junior Swimming Championships, in July in Kazan, Russia, Groumi earned an individual bronze medal with a 2:00.48 in the 200 IM.[5]
At the 2020 Summer Olympics, he competed in the men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay, finishing 10th with a combined time of 7:08.65, the 200 IM, finishing 30th with a time of 1:59:44. He was also registered to swim the 100 Fly, but he did not show.[4]
Perhaps his most significant event was the 4 × 100 Meter Medley Relay, where an 8th-place finish with a combined team time of 3:44.77 set a new Israeli record, an occurrence that brought considerable national attention to the young swimmer.[6][4]
He swam for the University of Michigan beginning in the Fall of 2021, and was enrolled in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts. He was an All-Big First Team in 2023 and an All American in the 200 yard Butterfly. He was a Big Ten Champion in the 200-yard IM, and the 100 yard butterfly.[7]
Groumi was the only Michigan team member to earn All-American honors at the 2023 NCAA championships, finishing in eighth place in the 200 yard butterfly with a time of 1:42:37.[8]
