52ND BAHAMAS NATIONAL SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Thursday, June 20th – Monday, June 24th
- Betty Kelly Kenning Aquatics Centre, Nassau, Bahamas
- LCM (50m)
- Recap #1
- Results – Meet Mobile: 52nd Bahamas National Swimming Championships
Russian Yuliya Efimova‘s bid to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games as a neutral athlete has ended, with the 32-year-old missing out while competing in the Bahamas.
Racing at the 52nd Bahamas National Swimming Championships, Efimova competed in the 50m, 100m and 200m breast events, focusing on the 100m distance as her potential Paris event.
After producing times of 31.47 in the 50m and 2:29.09 in the 200m, the Olympic medalist logged a result of 1:07.98 in the 100m.
Splitting 32.58/35.40, Efimova’s time fell over a second short of the World Aquatics Olympic Qualification Time of 1:06.79.
Efimova’s 100m breast lifetime best rests at the 1:04.36 she produced at the 2017 World Championships while her most recent time sits at the 1:06.02 she produced en route to 5th place at the 2020 Olympic Games.
Russian and Belarusian swimmers have been under sanction from World Aquatics dating back to March 2022 due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In September 2023, World Aquatics approved Russian and Belarusian participation as individual, neutral athletes under a strict set of criteria.
Belarusians Anastasia Shkurdai and Ilya Shymanovich were among those who represented the Neutral Independent Athletes at this year’s World Championships.
Yuliya Efimova’s Olympic Performance History
- 2008 Beijing – 4th 100m breaststroke, 5th 200m breaststroke
- 2012 London – 7th 100m breaststroke, BRONZE 200m breaststroke
- 2016 Rio – SILVER 100m breaststroke, SILVER 200m breaststroke
- 2020 Tokyo – 5th 100m breaststroke
During her career, Efimova was involved in the meldonium doping scandal in which nearly 300 Russian athletes tested positive for the banned substance in 2016.
After initially being put under a temporary suspension, World Aquatics (then FINA) wound up dropping the charges against Efimova.
This is great news for clean sport! One less cheat at the Games
Not in defence of those banned for drug use in sport (if you’re caught you’re caught and banned in my opinion) but there is a clear difference in outrage depending on the swimmer who test positive and indeed the country they come from.
When it’s China or Russia they are the villans attempting to come back and steal, cheat and lie their way into the sport but for others it is celebrated. Take Shayna Jack for example, it has been described as a redemption for her to be swimming well after serving a ban.
Food for thought
Your comment would have more validity if you didn’t COMPLETELY ignore the relative cheating history of the countries involved, China in particular a repeat repeat offender.
You are furthering the point being made. The US has a just a much a history of cheating as China. BALCO and Lance Armstrong? Major League Baseball?
I think people are outraged at countries systematically trying to cheat.There will always be individuals caught from any country.They pretty well all claim their innocence.Fans of those countries want to believe the bullshit from their own swimmers…you,re dead right about that.23 swimmers from 1 country testing positive because they went to the same restaurant is just too ridiculous for realists to accept.Also the fact they weren’t suspended pending an investigation also makes the corruption painfully obvious.Chinese swim fans will carry on believing or pretending to believe their team officials.I lived in China for awhile, most people there consider corruption as part of life.The end justifies the means.
Redemption? TF are you talking about…
Technically a redemption is when a debt or penalty has been paid or served. It doesn’t mean the person wasn’t guilty. So yeah…..
On one level I’m sad: I loved Lilly King giving her the raspberries about cheating in Rio/2016 – and now there will have to be another dust-up with other folk.
While the article mentions the Meldonium drug scandal, let’s not forget that previous to that, she was also involved in a positive test for DHEA. . . . .This is the worst form of Ooops, I did it, again!
I won’t miss he or the specter of other violations not detected.
Why leave it so late?
Oh no, Such a shame. Anyways…
I’m glad 👍🏼
Two swimming greats, Eflmova and Karina, will be missing from this years Olympics
Impressed YE tried to qualify. Great career!
Looks like it’s also the end for Belmonte.
She is a two-time convicted drug cheat. She’s one of the worst of the worst. Now it’s clear she could not make an Olympic qualification without cheating. Not one of the greats, unless you’re making a list of absolute frauds.