Estonian, 17, crowned European junior finswimming champion
Estonia claimed a gold medal on the opening day of the 2026 CMAS European Championship Finswimming Indoor Juniors, thanks to seventeen-year-old Krete Maalust.
A total of 18 countries are taking part in the competition, being held on the Greek island of Chios, in the Aegean.
Finswimming makes use of specialized fins, such as a large monofin or a pair of bifins, which competitors use to propel themselves through the water. Races are held in both swimming pools as in Chios, and at open water venues, over distances similar to conventional swimming. There are three main categories, two involving swimming on the surface with a mask and snorkel, while the third, Apnea, sees swimmers diving underwater while holding their breath, using a mask, a monofin, and no breathing apparatus. Races for this category are shorter, usually 25 to 50 meters. This is the category Maalust took part in, winning the 50-meter race.
Maalust, who trains in Rae Municipality, is part of an 11-member national team.
"We prepared for this competition for a long time and did everything we could. Once we arrived, we had only one goal: to do what we had trained for, exactly as we had trained for it, and we succeeded. Krete executed everything perfectly, and now Krete is the European Junior Champion," said Maalust's coach Vladimir Kunitsyn.
In the morning heats, Maalust set a new Estonian junior record of 16.38 seconds, breaking the 13-year-old mark of 16.44 set by Ksenia Belomestnova, which was at the time both a European and world junior record. The current European junior record is 16.30.
Maalust then dominated the evening's final, winning the European Junior title in 16.59.
Meanwhile in the boys' category, Nikita Kulikov finished fourth in the same event, while Maksim Radchenko placed seventh.
The official event page is here.
--
Editor: Andrew Whyte
