Maria Erokhina Breaks Cyprus Breaststroker Records in Indy…Then Does It Again a Week Later

2026 Cyprus National Championships

• June 26-28, 2026
• Limassol Olympic Swimming Pool, Limassol, Cyprus
• Long Course Meters (50 meters), Prelims/Finals
• Complete Meet Results:
  • Day 1
  • Day 2
  • Day 3

Maria Erokhina entered the second half of June staring down a grueling competition lineup. From June 17-20, she was scheduled to compete at the USA Swimming Pro Swim Series in Indianapolis, and just a few days later she was scheduled to swim at the Cyprus National Championships in her home country, which requires roughly 16 hours of flying.

But the University of Northern Colorado alum, now training with the Northern Kentucky Clippers, dominated the double, breaking National Records in both the 100 and 200 breaststrokes at both meets.

In Indianapolis, she swam 1:09.59 in the 100 breaststroke to break her own record of 1:10.37 from April by almost a second. Her gain in the 200 was more marginal, finishing 9th in the event in 2:30.24 – clearing the 2:30.62 that stood as her personal best and the national record since 2023.

The 22-year-old then traveled to the Cyprus National Championships in Limassol, the country’s biggest city, and again took huge chunks out of both records, winning the 100 breaststroke in 1:08.52 and the 200 in 2:28.92.

Splits Comparison (100 Breast National Record Comparison):

Splits Comparison (200 Breast National Record Comparison):

All times done by Erokhina.

She took on two very different tactics to find her drops. In the 100, the improvement came in the second half of the race – 35.96 is a relatively-fast closing split for a 1:08-mid breaststroke.

In the 200, on the other hand, she went out fast and held on at the end to also drop over a second.

She also won the 50 breaststroke in 31.94.

Erokhina is one of five Cypriot swimmers who were named to the Cyprus Commonwealth Games team earlier this year. It took times of 1:08.0 and 2:30.5 to make the final at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes, respectively.

The 2026 Cypriot National Championships marked the 50th anniversary of the meet. The first edition was held in 1976 with just four clubs and only 10 events, while the 2026 version grew to eight clubs and 155 participating athletes.

Erokhina set the only two senior National Records set at the meet, though several junior and youth marks fell. That included Giorgos Dimitriou in the 400 IM (4:36.40), and Andriou Markos Lagoutis setting youth National Records in the 50 fly twice in the same day (24.72 and 24.54).

Other big names include American-trained Kalia Antoniou, who won the 50 fly (26.62), 50 free (25.12), 100 free (55.30), and 50 back (29.42). Her brother Nikolas was the notable absence from the race, as he stayed home in America where he is on the varsity team at Cal.

APOEL ultimately came home with the team title, while Erokhina’s Paphos club finished 4th.

FINAL SCORE  

1. APOEL – 437
2. Nicosia S.O. – 343
3. Limassol N.O. – 298
4. N.O. Paphos – 195
5. N.O. Famagusta – 157.5
6. N.O. Constantias – 99
7. N.O. Kyrenia – 82
8. Larnaca S.O. – 45.5