UPDATE: Ema Rajic Breaks Croatian Record in 50 Breaststroke

2019 Croatian Open National Championships

• June 21-23, 2019
• Zagreb, Croatia
• Meet Results – Day 1
• Meet Results – Day 2
• Meet Results – Day 3

A pair of Croatian Senior Records fell last weekend at the Croatian Open National Championships in Zagreb, and a junior record was set by  14-year old, Meri Mataja.

Correction: a previous version of the article said that Mataja broke the National Record. She broke the National Junior Record, and would have broken the senior record had Ema Rajic not been faster in prelims.

Ema Rajic swam a 32.28 in prelims of the women’s 50 breaststroke, which is a FINA “B” cut for the World Championships. She was slower in finals, but her swim will emerge as the National Record at the end of the meet.

Mataja, meanwhile, won the 50 breaststroke in 32.33, which undercut the old record of that was set in 2014 by Lana Dragojevic. Mataja also won the 100 breaststroke in 1:11.96.

Her best time coming into the meet in the 50 was 32.90; she’s been as fast as 1:11.76 in the 100 breaststroke.

The other record fell at the hands of Matea Sumajstorcic, who swam 16:47.14 in the women’s 1500 free. That knocked 55 seconds off her previous best time in the race – she historically has specialized in the 200, 400, and 800 meter freestyles.

She also swam a time of 8:53.39 in the 800 free – missing her best time in that race by half-a-second.

Frano Grgic, who earlier this year became the youngest swimmer ever under 15 minutes in the men’s 1500 free, didn’t race at the meet.

Other Notable Results:

• Nikola Obrovac won the men’s 100 breaststroke in 1:01.31, which just-barely missed his own National Record of 1:01.27 set in March.
• Maric Ognjen won the men’s 200 free in 1:49.47.
• Amina Kajtaz won the women’s 100 fly in 1:00.29.
• Nina Kost won the women’s 50 free in 25.52 and the 100 free in 55.48.
• Marin Ercegovic won the men’s 50 free in 22.75 and 100 free in 50.09.