The Baku 2015 YouTube page is a bit light on race videos today, with only two races from day 4 currently uploaded. Still, we’ve got you covered, and will continue to add to this page if more videos make their way online.
The only final currently online is the girls 200 free, which was one of the races of the night. Russia’s Alina Openysheva entered these games with a Phelpsian goal of earning 8 gold medals. But that goal was quickly derailed by the speed of young Dutch freestyler Marritt Steenbergen when the latter swimmer won the 100 free battle between the two.
But Openysheva hasn’t let that stop her momentum, and has been one of the most successful swimmers of the Games so far. And today, she got her revenge on Steenbergen, topping the Dutchwoman to win the 200 free.
That race is below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERw2g7fjOIk
Also posted to the site is a race with more local impact. Azerbaijan, hosting these first-ever European Games, hasn’t had much success in the pool relative to other nations, without an individual finalist yet. But 18-year-old Ivan Andrianov gave the home crowd something to cheer about when he won his heat in the 100 fly this morning.
We profiled another Azerbaijani athlete, breaststroker Anton Jeltyakov, yesterday, touching on Azerbaijan’s swimming profile here, and it’s clear that Andrianov’s swim, while it didn’t make the semifinal, had a big cultural impact on the sport for the host nation.
That video is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPHMc5K9rZs