BARCELONA, August 4 (R-Sport) – World champion 200m breaststroke swimmer Yulia Efimova told R-Sport on Sunday that the strong competition in her discipline is driving her and the sport to new heights.
Efimova, 21, set a new world record in the 50m breaststroke at the World Aquatics Championships on Saturday morning, but several hours later 16-year-old Lithuanian prodigy Ruta Meilutyte cut another 0.3 seconds from her time, clocking 29.48 in the semifinal.
The final, scheduled for Sunday evening, is expected to be super intense and may bring another record.
“We keep each other going with our speed,” said Efimova, who bagged the 200m title earlier in the championships. “It is fun. That’s the whole point of sport – competition and a rush from constant improvement of results.”
All women’s breaststroke records have fallen at the championships in Barcelona. Meilutyte set the fastest 100m time ever with 1 minute 4.35 seconds on Wednesday and Denmark's Rikke Pedersen clocked 2:19.11 in the 200m semifinal on Thursday.
Another women's record was set by U.S. swimmer Katie Ledecky, 16, who registered 15:36.53 in the 1,500m freestyle on Tuesday.
In addition to the 200m gold she won Friday, Efimova has Olympic bronze in that distance, and world championship silver in the 100m.
