Ada Hakkarainen and Laura Lahtinen performed convincingly in EC swimming on Independence Day.
Sakari Lund,
Antti Sahlström
Ada Hakkarainen swam seventh in the 800m freestyle with a new SE time of 8:31.22 at the European short course swimming in Otopen, Romania. The 18-year-old Hakkarainen was in the final of the prestigious competition for the first time.
– Relieved and feeling good that you can complete it when you swim for the first time in the evening session. I went for my own, relaxed swim, Hakkarainen said.
The European championship was won by the team representing France Anastasia Kirpichnikova at 8:08,48.
Laura Lahtinen will surely swim to the final of the 200m butterfly. Lahtinen was second in his own semifinal and fourth in the combined results of the semifinals with a time of 2:05.79. However, Lahtinen didn’t put everything into the game.
– I concentrated on the first 150 meters. It wasn’t exciting at all, and there was no desire to compete for the semi-final win, because I knew I would make it to the next round. I wanted to save my legs for tomorrow, Lahtinen said.
In the morning heats, Lahtinen swam a little faster, 2:05.60. The German was the fastest in the semi-finals Angelina Kohler at 2:05,02. Based on the semifinals, Lahtinen is in an even front, fighting for medals in Thursday’s final.