Swimmer Ralf Tribuntsov eighth in US World Cup stage
Estonian swimmer Ralf Tribuntsov finished eighth in the 50-meter butterfly final at the World Cup stage held Monday in Westmont, Illinois.
Tribuntsov set a PB in the heats, while his final time of 22.75 was just 0.12 seconds shy of that PB.
Tribuntsov, 31, noted the butterfly over that distance is a new and challenging discipline for him. "The butterfly sprint is indeed a new experience, and this time I wasn't able to get all the details right. Overall, I can be satisfied with the first two stages. I've gotten exactly what I came to the World Cup stages for — a very valuable experience ahead of the short course European Championships," he said post-race.
"We now need to discuss again with the coach which distances we'll enter in Toronto, but for now I'm taking only positive things from these weeks."
Tribuntsov is now 17th overall in the World Cup standings. Although his results are generally positive, he still remains self-critical. "It's nice to reach the finals, but once you're there, you want to perform even better," he said.
As the only Estonian competing in all stages, Ralf Tribuntsov has so far managed to reach the final in every event of the World Cup stages, though he is the only Estonian competing in every round this year.
The next, and final stage takes place in Toronto, October 23 to 25.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Kristjan Kallaste
