Swim of the Week is brought to you by arena, a SwimSwam partner.
Disclaimer: Swim of the Week is not meant to be a conclusive selection of the best overall swim of the week, but rather one Featured Swim to be explored in deeper detail. The Swim of the Week is an opportunity to take a closer look at the context of one of the many fast swims this week, perhaps a swim that slipped through the cracks as others grabbed the headlines, or a race we didn’t get to examine as closely in the flood of weekly meets.
Sixteen-year-old Daria Asaftei has been one of the under-the-radar breakout stories of the 2025 European Short Course Championships this week in Lublin, rewriting the Romanian Records in the breaststroke events.
At the Romanian Short Course Championships in November, Asaftei established a pair of new National Records in the 50 breast (30.93) and 100 breast (1:06.50), and earlier this week in Lublin, she re-lowered the 100 mark in 1:06.44 to finish 20th.
Then, on Thursday, she broke the Romanian Record twice in the 200 breast.
Asaftei first clocked 2:21.50 in the prelims, taking down Brigitta Vass‘ National Record of 2:22.88 set at the 2023 SC Euros, advancing 3rd into the semis and lowering her previous best of 2:23.13, set at last month’s Romanian Nationals.
Then, in the semis, Asaftei clocked 2:20.14 to knock another second-plus off the record and advance 6th into the final.
In Friday’s final, she tied for 6th in 2:20.62.
Split Comparison
| Vass, 2023 SC Euros | Afatei, 2025 SC Romanian Champs | Afatei, 2025 SC Euros Prelims | Afatei, 2025 SC Euros Semis | Afatei, 2025 SC Euros Final |
| 32.38 | 32.56 | 31.96 | 31.99 | 32.08 |
| 1:07.78 (35.40) | 1:08.71 (36.15) | 1:07.74 (35.78) | 1:07.32 (35.33) | 1:07.78 (35.70) |
| 1:44.32 (36.54) | 1:45.83 (37.12) | 1:44.54 (36.80) | 1:43.37 (36.05) | 1:44.11 (36.33) |
| 2:22.88 (38.56) | 2:23.13 (37.30) | 2:21.50 (36.96) | 2:20.14 (36.77) | 2:20.62 (36.51) |
Afatei now ranks 9th all-time among European junior swimmers, with two more years of eligibility left to move up the list.
All-Time European Juniors (18 & U), Girls’ 200 Breaststroke (SCM)
- Evgeniia Chikunova (RUS), 2:14.70 – 2022
- Maria Astashkina (RUS), 2:18.95 – 2014
- Yuliya Efimova (RUS), 2:19.08 – 2007
- Anastasiya Gorbenko (ISR), 2:19.22 – 2021
- Eneli Jefimova (EST), 2:19.23 – 2023
- Viktoriya Solntseva (UKR), 2:19.50 – 2013
- Viktoria Zeynep Gunes (TUR), 2:19.73 – 2015
- Maria Kiseleva (RUS), 2:19.76 – 2012
- Daria Asaftei (ROU), 2:20.14 – 2025
- Mirna Jukic (AUT), 2:20.28 – 2003
This past summer, Afatei represented Romania at both the European Junior and World Junior Swimming Championships.
At Euro Juniors, she placed 4th in the 200 breast (2:28.13), 8th in the 100 breast (1:10.33) and 21st in the 50 breast (32.38), setting a new National Record of 1:09.23 in the 100 breast semis. Then, at World Juniors, she took 5th in the 200 breast (2:27.42), 12th in the 100 breast (1:09.39) and 20th in the 50 breast (32.38).
Follow arena USA on Instagram here.
About arena
arena has revolutionized the world of aquatic sport through insightful collaboration with world class athletes and the development of cutting edge competitive swimwear since 1973. Today, this spirit of collaboration and innovation lives on through a continuous evolution of advanced materials and Italian design that improves the performance, style and expression of all those who chose arena. From leading the lanes to living in style, arena is dedicated to providing all swimmers with the tools they need to express themselves, feel confident, win and achieve more. Because in arena, you can.
