Eneli Jefimova reaches Olympic final
Estonian swimmer Eneli Jefimova has advanced to the final of the 100-meter breaststroke, her specialty event, at the Paris Olympics. The final is scheduled for Monday.
In the heat held on Sunday morning, Eneli Jefimova recorded a time of 1:06.24, just 0.16 seconds shy of her Estonian record, securing her a place in the semifinals as the eighth-fastest swimmer. South African swimmer and Olympic record holder Tatjana Smith (formerly Schoenmaker) posted the fastest time in the heats, finishing in 1:05.00.
In the second semifinal held on Sunday evening, Jefimova clocked 1:06.23, placing fifth. This time was sufficient for her to advance to the final as the eighth qualifier. Jefimova became the first Estonian female swimmer to reach an individual event final at the Olympic Games.
In the first semifinal, Chinese swimmer Qianting Tang recorded the fastest time with 1:05.83, followed by neutral athlete Alina Zmuška with 1:05.93 and Italian swimmer Benedetta Pilato with 1:06.12.
Joining Jefimova in the final from the second semifinal were Smith, who again swam a precise 1:05.00, Irish swimmer Mona McSharry (1:05.51), world record holder Lilly King (1:05.64) and British swimmer Angharad Evans (1:05.99).
Italian swimmer Lisa Angiolini narrowly missed the final, finishing 16 hundredths of a second behind Jefimova. Jefimova also outperformed Dutch swimmer Tes Schouten, the silver medalist in this event at the 2023 Doha World Championships, and 2012 Olympic champion Ruta Meilutyte.
Jefimova told ERR that it hasn't yet fully hit her she's in the Olympic final. The athlete said that she hoped for a slightly better result, looking at the scoreboard. "I'm not completely satisfied with my time. I was only a hundredth of a second faster than this morning, and I thought this may be close. But then I was in as the eighth swimmer and felt a load fall off my shoulders," she said.
The Estonian record holder added that she feels capable of still faster times. "I have put in better times during training, so let's hope I will swim faster tomorrow."
The women's 100-meter breaststroke final will take place in Paris on Monday at 10:32 p.m.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski
