2023 EUROPEAN JUNIOR SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Tuesday, July 4th – Sunday, July 9th
- Sports and Recreational Center “Milan Gale Muškatirović”, Belgrade, Serbia
- Prelims at 10am local (4am EDT)/Finals at 5pm local (11am EDT)
- LCM (50m)
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- Day 1 Prelims Recap
During the first finals session at the 2023 European Junior Swimming Championships, 14-year-old Daria-Mariuca Silisteanu broke the Romanian record in the women’s 50 backstroke with a time of 28.59. Silisteanu took out Diana Mocanu‘s mark of 28.73, which is more than 20 years old. Mocanu hit that time back in 2002 in Pitești, Romania.
This swim by Silisteanu came during the semi-finals round of the 50 backstroke and she was the second-fastest girl in the field. The top qualifier heading into the final will be Lora Fanni Komoroczy of Hungary who put up a time of 28.32. Blythe Kinsman and Anna Maria Boerstler tied for 3rd in the semi-final round, both hitting 28.73. Notably, the entire top 8 swam under 29 seconds with the 2nd to 8th place swimmers hitting between 28.59 and 28.85.
Top 8 Qualifiers in Girl’s 50 Back Semi-Final:
- Lora Fanni Komoroczy (Hungary) – 28.32
- Daria-Mariuca Silisteanu (Romania) – 28.59
- Blythe Kinsman (Great Britain) – 28.73 (TIE)
- Anna Maria Boerstler (Germany) – 28.73 (TIE)
- Giada Gorlier (Italy) – 28.77
- Sofia Salvato (Italy) – 28.83
- Nika Sharafutdinova (Ukraine) – 28.84
- Martine Damborg (Denmark) – 28.85
Romania nearly got two girls into the A final as Rebecca-Aimee Diaconescu placed 9th with her time of 28.99. Diaconescu was seeded 8th overall heading into the meet with a 28.94.
Silisteanu nearly snatched the record during the morning session when she posted a time of 28.76 for second place, missing the mark by 0.03 seconds. That prelims swim was a 0.01-second improvement upon her entry time of 28.77, which made her the 6th seed heading into the meet.
At just 14 years old, Silisteanu is one of Romania’s fastest-rising stars. Last month, at the 2023 Romanian Cup, she hit a time of 2:13.36 to shave almost 5 seconds off her best time from last year and get within 3 seconds of the FINA A standard of 2:11.08. She narrowly missed the FINA A, which is a 28.22, in the 50 backstroke with her record-breaking swim.
Check back in tomorrow to see how Silisteanu fares during finals, which begin at 5:00 PM local time or 11:00 AM Eastern.
for reference, Regan Smith, Rhyan White, Isabelle Stadden, Katharine Berkoff, Alex Walsh, Teagan O’Dell, and Levenia Sim (the latter three place 4–6 in the 13-14 NAG rankings for the 100 back) all had not broken 29 seconds at the age of 14.
The only 2 Americans I can find who have done it are Phoebe Bacon, who went 28.57 a week before turning 15, and Claire Curzan, who went 28.58 two months before turning 15. So yeah this is a really fast time even for international/American standards
that’s fast