Jefimova, secured a place in the final as the quickest in the semis of 1 minute 06.60 seconds – the quickest in the semis. The 17-year-old from Tartu came within 0.42 seconds of her own Estonian national record, and swam 0.07 seconds quicker than in the heats.

"[It was] faster than this morning. I'm happy with that, but not all the details were perfect. I did a few too many pulls and got tired at the end. I need to start with a stronger pull and keep that under control," said Jefimova after the semi-final.

Jefimova added that in order to win a gold medal, everything needs to go right in the final. "My coach and I will have to watch the swim back on video and then we can draw conclusions about what to change or not change before the final. Everything has to go well," she said.

Jefimova was followed by Sweden's Olivia Ipsa Klint (+0.32 seconds), Switzerland's Lisa Mamie (+0.72 seconds), Poland's Dominika Sztandera (+0.75 seconds) and Czechia's Kristyna Horska (+1.12 seconds).

Jefimova will be joined in the final by her fellow Estonian Maria Romanjuk, who finished sixth in semis with a time of 1 minute 08.00 seconds. It will be the first time Romanjuk has competed in a European Championship final.

"At the moment, I can't quite take in what has happened," said Romanjuk after the semi-final. "The time could have been better because I felt really good in the warm-up, but tomorrow I can make up for that mistake."

Romanjuk's overall feelings were positive having overcome a difficult few years. "The biggest difference is definitely the mental side, a lot of work has been done and at the end of the day, a lot of it is all in your head," said the swimmer.

The final of the women's 100m breaststroke is scheduled for Wednesday evening at 7.58 p.m. Estonian time.

Elsewhere, Mariangela Boitšuk represented Estonia in the semi-finals of the women's 50m butterfly, but missed out on the final after finishing 16th with a time of 26.88 seconds.

"[I was] a bit slower than this morning, but for me it was a big step and a great achievement to get here to the semi-finals," Boitšuk said. "Overall, I'm really proud and am looking forward to the next distances, especially the 50m backstroke where I want to break the Estonian record."

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