Eneli Jefimova on swimming life in the US: Found my niche after a tough start
Top swimmer Eneli Jefimova has started her U.S. college swimming career and will be competing this weekend in Indiana, as will some of her compatriots.
The annual FINA World Cup series begins Friday in North America, with elite short course swimmers competing on weekends throughout October.
Estonia's Ralf Tribuntsov is to take part in all three events in the U.S. and Canada, while Eneli Jefimova, Christopher Palvadre, and Georg Filippov will compete in one each.
The World Cup meets will feature many of the sport's biggest names, including multiple Olympic champions and world record holders Léon Marchand of France, Britain's Adam Peaty, and local Canadian competitor Summer McIntosh.
The opening meet starts Friday in Carmel, Indiana, and runs to Sunday, with Jefimova, Tribuntsov, and Palvadre all swimming
Domestic breaststroke champ Jefimova, who relocated to the University of North Carolina over the summer, said she has adjusted well to college life. "The start was tough — I had to get used to the fast pace, more intense training, and college life. Now I feel like I've found my place. I have a great connection with my coach, Stefani Wendelschaefer, and my teammates. I'm also very happy with the training conditions here," the 18-year-old said in a statement, via the Estonian swimming federation.
For Jefimova, this week's event also serves as a mid-season fitness check. "We're in the middle of heavy training right now, and I want to see how the first month and a half in the U.S. has affected me. I'm curious myself to see where I stand," she explained.
In 2023, Jefimova won the 100-meter breaststroke and placed second in the 50-meter breaststroke at the Berlin World Cup stage.
Based on her entry times, she holds the fastest seed in her main events, the 50 and 100 breaststroke, in Carmel.
Meanwhile Ralf Tribuntsov, competing in all three stages (Carmel, then in Westmont, Illinois a week later and in Toronto the weekend after that), is entered in the 50 and 100 backstroke, 50 freestyle, and 100 individual medley in the opening round.
At the end of September in Helsinki, the 31-year-old Tribuntsov set new Estonian short course records in the 100 individual medley and 50 backstroke. "After the meet in Finland, I had a few health issues, but luckily they didn't force me to stop training. Maybe that lighter week actually helped, because now I have three intense weeks of competition ahead," he said.
Tribuntsov, a World Cup finalist last year, enters this season's 50 backstroke as the fourth-fastest seed and is aiming for a podium finish.
Also competing in all breaststroke events is 22-year-old Christopher Palvadre, a student at Oakland University in the U.S. He impressed this summer in the long course pool, qualifying for next August's European Championships. At the World University Games in Berlin, he set personal bests in the 50 and 100 breaststroke and aims to build on that momentum this weekend.
Filippov is also racing in Westmont next weekend.
The Carmel event will be broadcast live by Eurovision Sport. Preliminary heats begin at 5 p.m. Estonian time, with finals at 1 a.m., each day.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Henrik Laever
