Swimming Career
Urbach first attracted international attention in 1994, when he was ranked # 81 in the world in the 200 m backstroke (2:04.41) at the age of 17. He helped the Israeli 4×100 m medley relay team finish in 6th place at the 1995 European Championships in Vienna.
In the fall of 1996, he began swimming at Auburn University, and the following spring, he finished 8th in the 200 m backstroke at the NCAA Championship.
In 1997, Urbach won the silver medal in the 100 m backstroke (55.88) at the European Championships in Seville, Spain, and shared Israel's Sportsman of the Year award with fellow swimmer, and Auburn alumnus, Yoav Bruck.
Urbach continued his success in 1998, finishing 7th in the 100-meter backstroke (55.96) at the 1998 World Aquatics Championships in Perth, Western Australia.
He won the bronze in the same event (55.87) at the European LC Championships 1999 in Istanbul, Turkey.
He was also a member of the 4×100-meter medley (3:43.48) team which placed 8th at the 2000 European Championships.
At the 2001 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Urbach competed in the 50 m and 100 m backstroke events; he finished 26th in the preliminaries of the 50 m and 16th in the 100 m, and did not advance to the semifinals in either event.
Read more about this topic: Eithan Urbach
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