Eneli Jefimova Downs Meilutyte’s 100 Breast CR At World Juniors In 1:06.23

2023 WORLD JUNIOR SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• September 4 – 9, 2023
• Netanya, Israel
• Wingate Institute
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• How To Watch
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results
• Day 1 Prelims Live Recap | Day 1 Finals Live Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Live Recap| Day 2 Finals Live Recap
• Day 3 Prelims Live Recap | Day 3 Finals Live Recap
• Day 3 Finals Heat Sheet (Start List)

Estonia’s Eneli Jefimova obliterated the field in the semi-finals of the girls’ 100 breaststroke on the third night of action at the 2023 World Juniors in Netanya, setting a new Championship Record in the process.

Jefimova, 16, clocked 1:06.23 to qualify first for the final by well over a second, taking down Ruta Meilutyte‘s meet record of 1:06.61 set back in 2013.

Jefimova’s swim narrowly missed her personal best and Estonian Record of 1:06.18, which she set just over a month ago at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka. That performance earned the six-time European junior champion a berth into the final, where she placed sixth overall in 1:06.36 (with Meilutyte notably winning the world title).

Split Comparison

Jefimova will be seeking her second World Junior title in the final after she won the 50 breast earlier in the meet in a time of 30.42.

Despite the fact that she won’t turn 17 until December, Jefimova already has a vast international resume that includes representing Estonia at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 to go along with the last two Long Course World Championships in Budapest and Fukuoka.

In Tokyo, Jefimova was a semi-finalist in the 100 breast at the age of 14, and she was also a finalist at the LC European Championships that same year. At the 2021 SC Euros, she tied for silver in the 100 breast.

Prior to her 6th-place finish at the 2023 Worlds, she narrowly missed a spot in the final at the 2022 edition, taking 9th in the semis, eight one-hundredths shy of cracking the final (or at least forcing a swim-off).

Jefimova sits 1.37 seconds clear of second-place Alexanne LePage (1:07.60) of Canada entering tomorrow’s final.

Provided all goes according to plan, Jefimova will have a good shot at sweeping the girls’ breaststroke events in Netanya, though she’ll face a tall task in the 200 breast where she comes in as the #2 seed behind Japan’s Mina Nakazawa.