Estonia Looks To Defend Team Title At 2021 Baltic Championships

2021 Baltic States Swimming Championships

• March 6 – March 7, 2021
• Klaipeda, Lithuania
• Long Course Meters (LCM)
• Entries / Results

The 2021 Baltic States Swimming Championships will run over the weekend with racing taking place March 6 and March 7, 2021. The two-day meet will feature representatives from the 3 Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

Estonia will come in as the defending champs, having won the Baltic States titles back in 2019. 2019 was Estonia’s third title at the championships, having also won back in 2016 and 2017. Lithuania has claimed every other team title since the championships’ inception in 2009 including 7 titles between 2009 and 2015, as well as one in 2018.

Many of Estonia’s 2019 World Championship contingent won’t be in attendance over the weekend including breaststroker Martin Allikvee, backstroker Karl Johann Luht, and freestyle/butterflier Kregor Zirk on the men’s side. On the women’s side, neither of the country’s 2019 World Champs representatives Aleksa Gold and Maria Romanjuk will be in attendance.

Armin Evert Lelle will race for Estonia, going in as second seed in the men’s 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke, and 100 butterfly. Also racing for the Estonian men will be Rain Rasmus Lookene and Robin Tatar. On the women’s side, the team will be represented by the likes of Katriin Hansalu and Meril Arndt.

As for Lithuania, many swimmers will be returning to Klaipėda just weeks after competing at the 2021 Lithuanian Swimming Championships.

Among those racing for Lithuania will be 13-year-old Sylvia Statkevičius who recently swept the women’s freestyle at the Lithuanian Champs. Statkevičius will swim the 100, 200, and 400 freestyle, going in as the third seed in the 100 and the top seed in both the 200 and 400.

Also in attendance for Lithuania will be Olympians Simonas Bilis and Danas Rapsys, along with breaststroke duo and Olympians Andrius Šidlauskas and Giedrius Titenis.

Racing will start with prelims on Saturday morning at 10 am local time (3 am ET), with finals beginning at 5 pm local time (10 am ET).