Nikola Miljenic Cracks Croatian 100 Free Record In 48.13

2024 GRAND PRIX VICTORIA (CRO)

• March 2nd – March 3rd
• Rijeka, Croatia
• LCM (50m)
• Results

The 2024 Grand Prix Victoria in Croatia wrapped up over the weekend where we saw two national records bite the dust, one on the men’s side and one on the women’s.

For starters, 25-year-old Nikola Miljenic rocked a new lifetime best of 48.13 en route to winning gold in the men’s 100m freestyle.

After earning the top seed in a heats swim of 49.83, Miljenic entered an entirely new gear to open in 23.02 and close in 25.11 to establish his podium-topping result.

Miljenic’s 48.13 overtook the longstanding Croatian standard of 48.18 Duje Draganja put on the books at the 2009 World Championships.

It also represented a milestone for Miljenic as he had never before been under the 49-second threshold in this event. Entering this Grand Prix, his personal best rested at the 49.03 notched at last year’s Swim Open Stockholm. His result renders him the 13th-fastest performer in the world this season.

For the women, it was Jana Pavalic who produced a new national record while competing in the 50m freestyle.

Pavalic pumped out a morning swim of 25.50 to slice .08 off her own Croatian standard established at the 2021 European Junior Championships.

Pavalic was slightly slower in the final here but still grabbed the gold in 25.25.