Estonian swimming star Eneli Jefimova wins in Indiana
Swimmer Eneli Jefimova won the women's 50-meter breaststroke at the Swimming World Cup stage in the U.S., held in Carmel, Indiana, with a time of 29.33.
The Estonian, 18, recently relocated to the U.S. and is at college at the University of North Carolina.
"I was hoping to swim a bit faster, but I can't complain, because I've shown good times here in Carmel at my first competitions of the season. I'm most satisfied with the 100 meters, where I've only ever been faster when winning medals at major championships," Jefimova said of the weekend's race, via an Estonian swimming federation press release.
She also noted her times had been reached slightly more efficiently.
"I usually have a set number of strokes for each length, in competition, but right now I've been taking fewer strokes than before. Still, the times are the same, so hopefully that just means I'm getting stronger now. We'll analyze everything with the coaches to make sure all is in place for the main start — the short course European Championships."
On the day, Jefimova was already in the lead at the halfway mark and ultimately beat Belgian Florine Gaspard, who placed second, by a quarter of a second.
Her time of 29.33 was two hundredths of a second faster than her heat time, though not a PB over the distance. That stands at 29.10, also a domestic record and set in December 2023 in Otopeni, Romania.
Of other competitors, Ralf Tribuntsov finished sixth in the men's 100-meter backstroke with a time of 50.77, just over half a second shy of his personal best of 50.25. At the halfway point, the Estonian lay in third place.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Siim Boikov
