Kotryna Teterevkova Downs Ruta Meilutyte’s Lithuanian SC 200 Breast Record

2021 LEN EUROPEAN SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS

  • Tuesday, November 2nd – Sunday, November 7th
  • Aquatics Palace, Kazan Russia
  • SCM (25m)
  • Entries
  • Results

Ruta Meilutyte‘s grasp on all six Lithuanian female breaststroke records is no more.

19-year-old Kotryna Teterevkova knocked off Meilutyte’s four-year-old mark in the women’s SCM 200 breaststroke during Day 3 prelims at the 2021 European SC Championships in Kazan, registering a time of 2:21.81 to lower Meilutyte’s previous record of 2:22.21, set during the 2017 FINA World Cup.

Teterevkova, who has been steadily on the rise over the last few years, came into the competition with a personal best time of 2:22.66, set during the 2021 ISL season while competing for the LA Current. In Friday morning’s prelims, she was on pace to post a near-identical time before coming home a full second faster on the last 50 in 36.66 to down both her PB and Meilutyte’s old record.

Compared to Meilutyte’s splits, Teterevkova made up all of her ground on the final 50 as well (not a huge surprise given that Meilutyte always specialized in the 50/100 breast).

Split Comparison

Meilutyte, Old Record Teterevkova, New Record Teterevkova, Old PB
31.64 32.29 32.17
1:07.51 (35.87) 1:08.67 (36.38) 1:08.40 (36.23)
1:43.88 (36.37) 1:45.15 (36.48) 1:44.99 (36.59)
2:22.21 (38.33) 2:21.81 (36.66) 2:22.66 (37.67)

Teterevkova, who set a best time of 1:04.75 en route to tying for fifth place in the 100 breast final, won the second of four heats in the women’s 200 breast to qualify fourth overall into the semi-finals.

Russians Evgeniia Chikunova (2:19.26) and Maria Temnikova (2:21.31) lead the field, while Italian Francesca Fangio (2:21.67) sits in third.

At the 2019 European SC Championships, Teterevkova finished 19th in the women’s 200 breast in a time of 2:24.69.

She was the 2018 European Junior champion in the 100 breast, and added a bronze in the 200 breast in 2018 and a silver in the 50 in 2019 while also winning a pair of medals at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.

After all of that promise, Teterevkova broke through to qualify for the Lithuanian Olympic team this past summer, finishing 14th in the women’s 100 breast and 23rd in the 200 breast during the Tokyo 2020 Games.

Meilutyte, who still owns a share of the world record in the women’s SCM 100 breast with Jamaican Alia Atkinson (1:02.36), remains the holder of the five other Lithuanian female breaststroke records (50/100/200 LCM, 50/100 SCM).

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About James Sutherland

James Sutherland

James swam five years at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, specializing in the 200 free, back and IM. He finished up his collegiate swimming career in 2018, graduating with a bachelor's degree in economics. In 2019 he completed his graduate degree in sports journalism. Prior to going to Laurentian, James swam …

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