Enelif Jefimova fastest again to reach European champs 100m breaststroke final
Top swimmer Eneli Jefimova is through to the women's 100-meter breaststroke final at the ongoing European Short-Course Swimming Championships held in Lublin, Poland.
Jefimova put in the fastest time in the semi-finals, having already done so in the heats earlier in the day. She is also defending champion.
"This adds motivation. I want to repeat my result from the previous Euros," she said. "There is no pressure, I'm going to enjoy the competition and deliver my own result."
Jefimova swam 1:03.44 in the morning heats on Tuesday, followed by a 1:03.28 in the semifinals — just seven hundredths shy of her own PB and domestic record. Both times were the fastest in their stage.
"That was a pretty okay swim. The morning mistakes were fixed, and the time came a bit faster too. I can be quite satisfied with that," she said afterwards.
The final is scheduled for Wednesday evening.
Jefimova, 18, from Tartu, has been at the University of North Carolina since the start of the academic year, but headed home to Estonia ahead of the Lublin event, and was reunited with her coach Henry Hein for some pre-competition training.
Daniel Zaitsev through to men's 50m butterfly final, sets new Estonian record
Elsewhere in the event, Daniel Zaitsev improved his own 50 meter butterfly PB and the domestic record, reaching the finals with a time of 22.06. The previous Estonian record had been 22.15. Across both semifinals, his time ranked third fastest overall.
Zaitsev's final will also take place Wednesday evening.
Meanwhile the Estonian team finished eighth in the men's 4×50 m freestyle relay final with a time of 1:25.09. Italy took gold, hosts Poland silver, and Croatia the bronze.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Maarja Värv
