Veera Kivirinta swam her record 30.33 in the preliminaries of the 50 meter breaststroke. The semifinals are in the afternoon Finnish time.
Veera Kivirinta was the sixth fastest in the preliminaries in the 50-meter breaststroke at the World Championships in Japan. Kivirinta swam her record 30.33 and progressed handsomely to the semi-finals.
– It feels super good. I was so nervous again, a difficult year behind. The swim has felt surprisingly good, so I knew that I could get under 31 seconds, but that it was getting that hard already… I transferred the tension and energy into the swim very well. I cried when I saw the results. This is a reward for being able to put on weight for the last ten months, Kivirinta said right after the swim.
Kivirinta was third in his own heat and therefore sixth in the overall results. The semi-finals take place in the evening, i.e. in the afternoon Finnish time.
– I was prepared for the fact that there wouldn’t be another swim. Now we’re trying to get a new spike in the evening. I try to swim in the same way one stroke at a time, let’s see how long it takes.
Throughout her career, Kivirinta has had to get by without financial support from the Olympic Committee, because her main event is the 50-meter breaststroke, which is not part of the Olympic program. Read a personal story about Kiviranta here.
Ida Hulkko was 21st in the same distance with a time of 30.98 and did not make it to the semi-finals.