Israelis won 12 medals at the 2015 European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan. Photo: Urek Meniashvili via Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Israelis won 12 medals in a variety of sports at the 2015 European Games that ended in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Sunday.

Ziv Kalontarov, 18, won a gold medal in the men’s 50-meter freestyle swim on Saturday with a 22.16-second performance that broke the previous Israeli record. He has qualified to participate in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Two days earlier, 18-year-old swimmer Marc Hinawi won the bronze medal in the men’s 1,500-meter freestyle.

In judo, 24-year-old Uri Sasson won a silver medal in the over 100 kilogram weight class and 23-year-old Sagi Muki won gold in the 73-kilogram class. Maki is the first Israeli to win a judo gold medal at the European Games.

In gymnastics, Israeli competitors won a number of medals, among them Olympic gymnast Neta Rivkin, who won bronze in the Solo Hoops event. Sergey Rikhter won bronze in the men’s 10-meter air-rifle, and Ilana Kratysh won silver in women’s freestyle wrestling.