Williams Swimmer Earns Seven Medals at Maccabiah Games
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Ev Nichol's first participation in the Maccabiah Games came in Netanya, Israel, at the age of 16 while a high school student in Memphis, Tenn.
This year, he returned and collected a boatload of medals.
Nichol, now a senior Williams College, competed in the Junior Maccabiah Games in 2017 in Israel.
The Maccabiah Games are normally held every four years, but due to Covid, the 2021 games were postponed to 2022.
This summer, Nichol competed in the Maccabiah Games Open Division in Jerusalem.
"I'm not a spiritual, person," Nichol said. "For me the Games are more about the shared history of the athletes, identifying with and increasing my connection with the people of Israel and learning more about the country. The Games are really a great opportunity to make new friends on the U.S. team, and remain connected after the Games. I've been able to stay in touch with some of my Junior Games teammates as well as Israeli citizens I met in 2017."
Nichol qualified for the 2022 U.S. team with his strong performances over the 2021-22 season on a Williams team that finished fourth at the NCAA Division III Championship meet.
Though looking forward to competing in the 2022 Maccabiah Games when the college regular season ended, Nichol took some time off from training to refresh himself. A few weeks after the Williams season ended Nichol was back in the Samuelson-Muir Pool training. Once the academic year ended he picked up his training.
In Memphis Nichol continued his preparation for the games by training with both the Memphis Thunder Aquatic Club and the Memphis Tiger Swim Club.
Nichol had no idea that he would be competing in seven events until the actual Men's Open Division Swim Meet began to unfold.
"It was very cool to be able to team up swimmers from all over the country including many people from many schools in the Northeast," Nichol added.
The USA won the team competition and Nichol claimed a gold medal in the 200 free relay. He notched a personal best in the 50 backstroke – 26.51 seconds – leading off the 200 medley relay, which was one of the five silver medals he won (400 free relay, 400 medley relay, 200 mixed medley relay, and the 400 mixed medley relay). His seventh medal came in the 100 backstroke, where he finished in 57.53 and won a bronze medal.
At the games, Nichol crossed paths with Williams women's squash player Nora Brant on occasion. Nichol's time in Israel lasted three weeks, and once he was done competing he had almost a full week of being able to travel around the country to see and learn more about Israel and the Israeli people.
Nichol, an econ bio premed major, is back in Memphis now where he is focusing on studying for the MCAT with a goal of enrolling in medical school after Williams. Typical of many Williams athletes he took advantage of the time on long bus trips throughout Israel during the games to study for the MCAT.
In a vote by the Williams men's swimming and diving team after the 2021-22 season, Nichol was named a captain along with Nick Whitcomb, Timmy Page, and Kobe Tray for the 2022-23 season.
