Ukrainian-Turkish swimmer Viktoria Gunes is on a training trip in Mission Viejo, California ahead of this summer’s Mediterranean Games, she told SwimSwam on Sunday.
Gunes raced at the Pro Swim Series meet in Mission Viejo over the weekend, where she won the 200 IM in 2:13.80. She also finished 2nd in the 100 breast (1:09.38) and 4th in the 400 IM (4:50.43).
Gunes joined the new pro training group at Mission Viejo, led by Jeff Julian, in March for a trial, and then returned in May for additional training. She intends to train with the group until she leaves for the Mediterranean Games.
Gunes says that she is skipping this year’s World Championship meet to attend the Mediterranean Games instead. The World Championships begin on June 18 in Budapest, Hungary, while the Mediterannean Games begin on June 25 in Oran, Algeria.
The newly-founded Mission Viejo pro group so far includes US World Championship team member Justin Ress, Pac-12 champion sprinter Taylor McCoy, Jeff Julian‘s son, and World Championship qualifier Trenton Julian, and open water national team member David Heron.
Gunes competes during the International Swimming League season with Energy Standard: a team that is the primary rival to Julian’s Cali Condors team. The two teams have combined to win all three ISL titles so far, including the 2022 title for Energy Standard that Gunes was part of.
The 23-year old Gunes was born in Poltava, Ukraine, and began her international career representing Ukraine and swimming under the name Viktoria Solnceva. She won the 2013 World Junior Championship in the 200 breaststroke and 2013 European Junior Championships in the 50 and 200 breaststrokes while representing Ukraine. She still holds Ukrainian Records in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes in long course, plus the 200 breaststroke in short course.
She first represented Turkey, under the name Viktoria Gunes, at the 2015 World Championships in Kazan. There, she advanced to the semifinals of the 100 breaststroke.
Later that year, at the 2015 World Junior Championships, she won all three breaststroke races and the 200 IM, and broke the World Junior Record in the 200 breaststroke in 2:19.64: just .53 seconds off the World Record. That remains the World Junior Record. She also broke the 200 IM World Junior Record.
Gunes garnered international attention earlier this year after posting an image on her social media standing on the Russian flag in a protest of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
She’s the female Akihiro Yamaguchi. One magical few months of breaststroke as a junior swimmer, but never able to put everything together beyond that–outside of 2015 WJCs, she has never even broken 2:22. Props to her for still swimming and racing so often, but a strange career to say the least.
I don’t know AY, but otherwise that is exactly what I was thinking. It’s a phenomenal junior 200 Br time but it’s most unusual to never get near it again in 7 years of elite swimming/ training.
In the 70s and 80s, plenty of female swimmers hit their peak as young juniors- but only because they retired at 17,18. There is a longer career path for good swimmers now, so females tend to peak roundabout their early -mid 20s
She was training with Yulia Efimova’s former coach when she broke that World junior record, and broke up with her since then. Draw whatever conclusions you like.
Sussy
Akihiro Yamaguchi broke a WR!
goat