( Photo: Yaron Sharon )
When Veronica Girenko was five years old she traveled with her parents to visit her grandparents in Russia. The trivial family visit became a life-changing experience for her: a car driving behind them collided head-on with the family car, and as a result of the accident little Veronica flew forward and was badly injured in her spine. The result: the little girl had to get used to a new life while confined to a wheelchair.
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Veronica Girenko
( Photo: Yariv Katz )
Better morning “, A collaboration between Yedioth Ahronoth, Ynet and Thelma, she was not alone, but part of an inspiring couple, who proved once again that a great athlete is a great athlete, whether he has a physical limitation or not, and the challenges are usually similar . Her “partner” for the Wingate Institute meeting was no less than Yaakov Tomarkin (29), one of the greatest Israeli swimmers of all time, the first Israeli swimmer to reach seventh place in the Olympic finals (at the 2012 London Olympics) and the one who also just returned from Tokyo, from the Olympics.
Veronica and Jacob in the Wingate Institute Pool
( Photo: Yariv Katz
)
How long did it take you To say goodbye to the floats?
“The truth is that at first I was very scared of the water and it took me a long time to get used to it, but only two years later I started to represent Israel in competitions abroad.”
Over the years, Veronica has joined the national swimming team, competing in the Tokyo Paralympic Games. , But did not reach the final. Currently she is looking forward, towards the Paris Olympics. Whether she wins a medal there or not, the investment is worth the results. “Because of swimming I discovered that I have an extraordinary perseverance,” she says. Do it even when all your muscles are sore, burning, and once you feel you can no longer and must Stop – just then you need to increase the pace. This ability also helps me in life. To know how to go with things to the end and not give up on myself “.
“Once you feel that you can no longer and must stop, then you need to increase the pace”
Photo: Yariv Katz )
The person who also marked the Paris Olympics as his goal is Tomarkin. If he succeeds, it will be an incredible achievement: the next Olympics will be the fourth in a row in which he participates. He was born in Russia, and at the age of one immigrated to Israel with his family. They settled in Ashdod, where he grew up and was educated. As a child growing up in a beach town it was only natural for him and his family that he would learn to swim, but the routine class in which many children participate at a young age became a life destiny for him. As a child, he trained in the swimming group of the “Maccabi Ashdod” association. Then, at the age of 13, he began training at the Wingate Institute’s Gifted Boarding School, in which he opened a special chapter in Israeli swimming. Tomarkin has already excelled as a boy, always, and his career includes three Olympics, five world championships and eight European championships in the Israeli national team uniform. He was three times European Vice Champion, won two more bronze medals at the European Championships (Debrecen 2012), he was crowned European Youth Champion, was twice Olympic Vice Champion for Youth and twice Maccabiah Champion.
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Jacob Tomarkin
( Photo: Yariv Katz )
What is the biggest challenge in your eyes as a professional swimmer?
“Swimming is an industry that requires a lot of work hours. I have two workouts a day – morning and evening in the water. It requires self-discipline, perseverance. I become a coach of myself and know if I was good today or not. Along with the challenge and difficulties swimming has contributed a lot to my life and shaped me as a person and as a father to two daughters, whom I am trying to educate today in the values of sports. Everyone who goes into sports discovers how much their values contribute to it: the pursuit of excellence, the self-confidence it gives children – I do not think it is possible to acquire these things at such a level outside the world of sports. “
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