2022 EUROPEAN JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Tuesday, July 5th – Sunday, July 10th
- Otopeni Olympic Swimming Complex, Bucharest, Romania
- LCM (50m)
- Start Times
- Prelims: 10 a.m. local / 3 a.m. ET
- Finals: 5 p.m. local / 10 a.m. ET
- Meet Central
- Entries
- Live Results
- Live Stream
In the finals of the girls’ 200 breaststroke at the 2022 European Junior Championships, Eneli Jefimova broke the Estonian record in a time of 2:26.85 to take gold. She beat out defending champion Justine Delmas by just 0.01 of a second, and takes 0.03 seconds off her old record time of 2:26.88 that was set in April 2021 at the Stockholm Open. This swim was an improvement on Jefimova’s finish last year at this meet, where she finished second to Delmas in a time of 2:28.01.
Jefimova was actually trailing Great Britain’s Siena Robinson and Delmas for the majority of the race, being in fourth at the 150-meter mark due to her 39.18 split, which was the slowest out of her four laps. However, she then came home in a final 50 time of 37.30, which was the fastest closing speed out of anyone in the race. That split was quick enough to overtake Delmas and Robinson—who went 39.99 on her last 50 and faded to fifth after leading for 150 meters.
Eneli Jefimova vs. Justine Delmas, Comparative Splits:
| Eneli Jefimova, 2022 European Junior Championships | Justine Delmas, 2022 European Junior Championships | |
| 50m | 33.11 | 33.30 |
| 100m | 37.26 | 36.81 |
| 150m | 39.18 | 37.81 |
| 200m | 37.30 | 38.94 |
| Total | 2:26.85 | 2:26.86 |
This race is Jefimova’s second gold medal of these European Junior Championships, as she previously won the girls’ 50 breast as well. It is also her second Estonian record of the year, as she broke the 50 breast record in a time of 30.08 in the prelims of the World Championships. She is currently the Estonian record holder in the 50/100/200 breast in long course and the 100/200 breast in short course.
At the 2022 World Championships, Jefimova finished 19th with a time of 2:28.51.