Jefimova advances to the World Championships, Zaitsev narrowly misses out
Swimmer Eneli Jefimova has again made Estonian sporting history at the Short Course World Championships by earning Estonia's first-ever medal in the competition in Budapest.
Today, Saturday, she advanced confidently in the 50-meter breaststroke, securing third place in the heats with a time of 29.24, just 0.14 seconds off her national record.
Reflecting on her performance, Jefimova said: "Just all-out there, all-out back. No need to think about anything more. It's an okay time for the morning, probably my third-best result ever. In the evening, it has to be faster still."
The historic victory in the 100-meter breaststroke earlier in the week gave Jefimova a significant confidence boost.
She explained about this: "I gained confidence; there's nothing to be nervous about. It's not even about the medal, but my first 50 showed that I started very quickly with those strokes. That gave me even more confidence for the 50."
Jefimova is focused on the semifinals, which are set for 6:48 p.m. Estonian time Saturday, where she hopes to improve upon her time.
Meanwhile, Daniel Zaitsev narrowly missed qualifying for the semifinals in the men's 50-meter freestyle, finishing 19th with a time of 21.27.
He was disappointed, as he aimed to break the Estonian record but fell just short, missing it by five hundredths of a second.
"I'm not satisfied; I was expecting a faster time. I knew the semifinals would go roughly the way they did, and the minimum goal was to break the Estonian record. I felt really good today, one of my best feelings," Zaitsev said post-race.
Elsewhere, Ralf Tribuntsov finished 30th in the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 21.60.
He attributed this relatively underwhelming performance to exhaustion, particularly after the backstroke event. "I'm out of steam, and I think I picked something up after the backstroke. My body is really weak, and after that, there was a letdown," Tribuntsov said.
Ralf Roose finished 43rd in the 50-meter breaststroke heats, recording a time of 27.29, which did not advance him to the next stage.
From other nations' swimmers, in the 50-meter freestyle, Jordan Crooks set a world record with a time of 20.08, surpassing Caeleb Dressel's previous record by 0.08 seconds. Meanwhile, Austrian Heiko Gigler secured the last semifinal spot with a time of 21.19, just ahead of Zaitsev's 21.27.
--
Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!
Editor: Andrew Whyte, Aivar Tiisler, Kristjan Kallaste
