Olli Kokko broke the Finnish record in the 50 meter breaststroke. Koko’s new SE time is 27.26. The previous Finnish record was Eetu Karvonen’s swim of 27.39 in 2009. See SE swimming in the video that is the main picture of this article.
Riku Porvari,
Antti Sahlström
19:39•Updated 20:18
Finland Olli Kokko swam fifth in the men’s 50-meter breaststroke EC final with a time of 27.26. Kokko missed the medal by 15 hundredths.
– Pretty good swimming. A sick atmosphere. The medal was pretty close if the finish line had been hit. Everything went well, can’t complain. An absolutely incredible experience, Kokko said after swimming in Rome.
Kokko swam a new Finnish record time when she fell behind Eetu Karvonen 2009 SE time 27.39. Kokko said he was satisfied that he could take the record from Karvos.
– In a year or two, won’t there be others who would have received that? It’s great that I was able to take the old record away myself.
Kokko said that he threw his hands to the ceiling at the finish and said that you can only get similar feelings from swimming and that’s why he has continued with the sport. He described swimming briefly:
– The start and surfacing hit well. I can’t pick up the pace in the pool compared to other breaststrokers, so it has to come at the start. Today it carried really well. Swimming is always a bit dark, I remembered more the presentation of the Italians – absolutely sick noise.
The EC gold was won by Italy Nicolo Martinenghi at 26.33. Second scooped Italy Simone Cerasuolo with a time of 26.95 and the bronze went to Germany Lucas Matzerath at 27.11.
Men’s 50-meter breaststroke EC final
1. Nicolo Martinenghi ITA 26.33
2. Simone Cerasuolo ITA 26.95
3. Lucas Matzerath GER 27.11
4. Valentin Bayer AUT 27.19
6. Bernhard ReitshammerAUT 27.29
7. Volodymyr Lisovets UKR 27.59
8. Peter Stevens SLO 27.74
Kivirinta “slowly swims” to the EC final
Veera Kivirinta swam in the women’s 50-meter breaststroke to the EC final with a time of 30.77. He was the fifth fastest in the semi-final.
Kivirinta did not improve the record of 30.34 she swam in the preliminary round on Tuesday morning. After the race, Kivirinta assessed that we swam slowly in the semifinals.
– Pretty weak time. Or it wasn’t that slow time, but much slower compared to the morning. You’ll have to watch the video to see what’s wrong with it. Let’s put it in the headwind, because the wind is really strong. Had to push hard.
Kivirinta said that the preparation for the race went well, when “the big monkey came off her shoulders” after a successful morning swim. He said he went to the pool relaxed.
– And it wasn’t tiring, as it has been tiring all week.
Kivirinta said he was going to the EC final to enjoy himself. Before that, he plans to eat a lot, sleep well and swim a little.
– There will probably be tears tomorrow – it doesn’t matter how the swimming goes, because Tampere’s taival will come to an end. Today was also a tough place, when you didn’t know if that (semi-final) was the last swim, Kivirinta said at the end.
Veera Kivirinta has represented the swimming club TaTU Tampere since 2020, but she is moving to the ranks of the Helsinki Swimming Academy (HSA).
Lithuania was the fastest in the semi-final Ruta Meilutyte with a time of 29.44. Italy also swims under 30 seconds Benedetta Pilato at 29.85. The women’s 50-meter breaststroke final will be swum on Wednesday, August 17 at 7:00 p.m.
Update 8/16/2022 at 8:18 p.m.: The result of Veera Kivirinna’s semifinal and the swimmer’s comments have been added to the story.