Grieving Mandel sets national record

BEIJING (Reuters) - Israeli swimmer Alon Mandel set a new national record in the 200 meters butterfly at the Water Cube on Monday, just days after the sudden death of his father.

Mandel, who until recently trained on the same team as Michael Phelps, said he stayed in Beijing to honor his late father.

"It was very hard, it was a family decision to stay and compete and I wanted to do this for my Dad," Mandel said after setting an Israeli record of one minute, 59.27 seconds. "As an athlete, I wanted to stay, but I'm a person first of all.

"I wanted to go back to be with my family, but they wanted me to stay here," the 19-year-old, who finished 28th overall and failed to qualify for the semi-finals, added.

His father Kostia, 51, died last Wednesday after falling from a ladder while changing a light bulb.

Mandel's family watched the race on television in Israel and his mother Rina said his swim had been "amazing".

"We have been watching you as the clock stopped and our hearts stopped at the same time, you would not believe how it has been for us," Rina told him in an emotional phone conversation after the race.

"We are so proud that you were able to break the record in such difficult circumstances," she added.

Mandel said he had spoken to Phelps, who told him he was sorry about his father.

He also received some praise from Phelps's coach.

"It was remarkable for him to do a lifetime best tonight," said Bob Bowman. "I'm so proud of him for standing up under tougher circumstances than any of us."

(Additional reporting by Ori Lewis in Jerusalem)

(Editing by Greg Stutchbury)

For more stories visit our multimedia website "2008 Summer Olympics" here; and see our blog at blogs.reuters.com/china)