Seventh medal for Hosszu and Yulia Efimova's victory
World swimming leaders confirm their high level at the World Cup in Kazan.
Katinka Hosszu (Hungary) won three prizes on the first day of the FINA Swimming World Cup and added four medals to her collection. This time she won only one race having achieved the best result in the 400m medley. Her stamina is incredible. She deserves admiration. Sarah Sjostrom (Sweden) won two gold medals and she can be proud of three victories.
“This is my seventh World Cup. I’ve been swimming for a long time. I enjoy it. I love training. But it’s much more exciting to compete with the best swimmers in the world being surrounded by fans. I think I can do better. I hope to improve more and more. Athletes are not ready for racing in September. Anyway, I like the atmosphere of the World Cup. I love Kazan. I have great memories connected with this city. I'm happy to be here”, Hosszu shared her thoughts.
Women. 400m. Individual Medley
1. Katinka Hosszu, Hungary – 4:37.82
2. Zsuzsanna Jakabos, Hungary – 4:47.93
3. Irina Krivonogova, Russia – 4:51.73
Women. 200m. Freestyle
1. Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden – 1:55.98
2. Femke Heemskerk, the Netherlands – 1:56.89
3. Katinka Hosszu, Hungary – 2:00.27
Women. 100m. Backstroke
1. Kira Toussant, the Netherlands – 59.80
2. Katinka Hosszu, Hungary – 1:00.77
3. Tatiana Salcutan, Moldova – 1:01.66
Women. 50m. Butterfly
1. Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden – 25.39
2. Ranomi Kromowidjojo, the Netherlands – 26.09
3. Kimberly Buys, Belgium – 26.22
Swimming lovers were expecting a 100m breaststroke race of the multiple world champion Yulia Efimova with great enthusiasm. Before the tournament, she noted that she was not in good shape, but promised to do everything for the sake of a successful performance. No sooner said than done. Yulia won the race and afterwards confessed that she won due to the support of her fans at the Aquatics Palace.
“It was easy to swim, but I didn’t feel my technique at all. I thought that I wouldn’t be able to swim well, but I was focused on victory. That would be unfair to lose and not meet the expectations of my fans. I had a very short break before the race. It influenced my result somehow. My speed was excellent. When I finished the race, an interesting thought came to my head: “Probably, the whole secret of success is to train less? Should I reconsider my training schedule?” Efimova joked after the race.
Women. 100m. Breaststroke
1. Yulia Efimova, Russia – 1:05.94
2. Vitalina Simonova, Russia – 1:07.56
3. Daria Chikunova, Russia – 1:07.68
Mixed. 4x100m. Freestyle
1. Team the Netherlands – 3:27.42
2. Team Russia – 3:30.94
3. Team Hungary – 3:36.21