2016 Riga Sprint Cup
- Full Results
- November 4th-5th, 2016
- Riga, Latvia
- Short Course Meters
Latvian sprint standout Gabriela Nikitina had a strong showing at the 2016 Riga Sprint Cup, shattering multiple Latvian Record throughout the meet. She set the Latvian Records in the 50 free, 100 free, 50 fly, and 100 IM, medaling in each of those races. Her most impressive swim was arguably the 100 IM, where she clocked a new record of 1:03.04 to win gold after a close battle with Belarus’ Nastassia Karakouskaya, who picked up silver in 1:03.19.
Nikitina’s aditional records were as follows:
- 100 free- 55.87 (bronze)
- 50 fly- 26.89 (silver)
- 50 free- 25.33 (silver)
Breaststroker Dana Kolidzeja also swam to a new Latvian Record and Meet Record, setting a new best in the 50 breast final. Her 31.27 was good for gold as she took a few tenths of her own previous record of 31.55 from the 2015 meet. Belarus’ Julia Lemke was nearly under the former record herself, earning a silver medal with her 31.82.
A pair of Belarusian swimmers set meet records in the 200 free, with Safiya Akhapkina taking gold in the women’s 200 free and Kanstantsin Kurachkin winning the men’s version of that event. Akhapkina dominated the women’s race, taking nearly a full second off the previous record with her 2:05.75. Kanstantin, on the other hand, shave a half second off the previous record with his winning time of 1:51.04 in the men’s race.
Belarus’ Yahor Dodaleu took down the meet record in the men’s 50 fly. He first broke the record in prelims, winning by 1.5 seconds with his 23.05 to clear the former Meet Record of 23.67 set by Yauhen Tsurkin in 2015. He then lowered the record again in finals, taking gold with a quick 22.86.
