2024 GOLDEN BEAR (CRO)
- Saturday, June 8th & Sunday, June 9th
- Zagreb, Croatia
- LCM (50m)
- Results
The 2024 Golden Bear competition wrapped up over the weekend from Zagreb with a new national record biting the dust.
Racing in the women’s 50m freestyle, Jana Pavalic fired off a time of 24.77 to take the gold medal. The 17-year-old ventured into sub-25-second territory for the first time in her career, beating the previous national standard of 25.20 she put on the books in Rijeka this past March.
Pavalic also owns the Croatian national record in the 100m free (56.09) and 50m fly (26.35).
She earned bronze in the 50m fly at the 2022 European Junior Championships and has steadily improved her results.
The World Aquatics Olympic Qualification Time for Paris sits at 24.70, which means the teen fell just .07 outside that benchmark.
On the men’s side, Turkey’s multi-national record holder Emri Sakci clocked a winning time of 26.92 to win the men’s 50m breaststroke by nearly 2 seconds.
26-year-old Sakci owns the Turkish standard at 26.83, a time he produced at the 2021 Turkish Championships.
Then in the 100m breast, Sakci topped the podium in 1:00.60. He followed that up with a swim of 22.39 in the 50m free, within striking distance of his lifetime best of 22.05 notchd at the 2023 Greek National Championships.
“On the men’s side, Turkey’s multi-national record holder Emri Sakci clocked a winning time of 26.92 to win the men’s 50m breaststroke by nearly 2 seconds.”… probably dolphin kicking the entire way.