The Estonian, 21, had also finished fourth in the 100m breaststroke earlier in the week.

Jefimova had arrived in Paris as the defending champion in the 100m breaststroke, having won gold in Belgrade two years ago with a time of 1:06.41. She had also set a new Estonian record of 1:05.78 in the 100m semifinal this time around in Paris — improving on her own mark from May by three hundredths.

In the 50m final, Jefimova swam 30.00, having clocked 29.93 in the semifinal — a time that would have been good enough for gold in the final on the day. The ever-present Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania took gold in 29.93, edging Italy's Benedetta Pilato (29.94) and Ireland's Mona McSharry (29.95) in an extremely tight race. Jefimova was next.

"This was a slightly worse swim than yesterday. But seven hundredths... I don't really know what was so different compared with yesterday. But right now I'm disappointed. Fourth place again, this time by five hundredths. It's a bit tough right now," Jefimova told ERR.

"In terms of times, definitely a very good European Championships, but in finals those times don't matter as much as medals. I would have liked to take a medal or two home from here as well," she went on.

In the 100m final earlier in the week, she finished fourth with 1:05.94, 0.16 seconds slower than her semifinal time, missing the podium by five hundredths. Britain's Angharad Evans won gold in a championship record 1:04.87.

"I actually felt pretty good during the swim," Jefimova said after the 100m final. "When the final 25 started, I felt like another gear kicked in, but then the finish just didn't work out at all."

She added she had been calmer than in previous years. "It's a process, and it's the fourth time I've gone 1:05 — that time is actually great. Today the other women were simply faster."

Other Estonians failed to advance from the morning heats earlier in the week. Kregor Zirk (52.87) and Alex Ahtiainen (52.42) finished 32nd and 29th in the men's 100m butterfly, missing the semifinal cut of 52.07. In the women's 50m backstroke, Maari Randväli (29.18) and Margaret Markvardt (29.76) placed 32nd and 39th, well off the 28.61 cutoff. Christopher Palvadre (2:16.54) and Ralf Roose (2:20.29) were 36th and 41st in the men's 200m breaststroke.

The 2026 European Aquatics Championships in Paris ran from July 31 to August 16.

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