Belarus Championships
- Brest, Belarus
- LCM
- Results
16-year-old Anastasiya Shkurdai had the meet of her life this past weekend in Brest, Belarus, competing at the Championships of Belarus.
First, the teenager notched a personal best in the women’s 50m fly, stopping the clock in a speedy 25.87, a time that fell just .03 shy of matching the Belarusian National Record. That mark is held by Olympian Aliaksandra Herasimenia at 25.84 from way back in 2013.
Shkurdia’s time tonight blows away the 26.62 the Belarusian notched for silver in Jakarta last year at the Youth Olympic Games.
Shkurdai now ties America’s Kelsi Dahlia to rank as the 4th fastest swimmer in the world.
2018-2019 LCM WOMEN 50 FLY
SJOSTROM
24.79
| 2 | Holly BARRATT | AUS | 25.31 | 08/16 |
| 3 | Ranomi KROMOWIDJOJO | NED | 25.35 | 07/27 |
| 4 | Farida OSMAN | EGY | 25.47 | 07/27 |
| 5 | Kelsi DAHLIA | USA | 25.48 | 07/27 |
Next up for Shkurdai was the women’s 100m fly, where she crushed another lifetime best with a winning mark of 57.78. Winning by over 5 seconds in the race, Shkurdai’s sub-58 second performance laid waste to her own career fastest of 59.76 notched also at the Youth Olympic Games, which rendered the Belarusian bronze.
Her 57.78 time also clears the previous Belarusian National Record of 58.09 set by Herasimenia back in 2012 at that year’s Spanish Championships in Malaga, Spain.
Shkurdai’s new PB situates the teen as 6th fastest in the world this season.
2018-2019 LCM WOMEN 100 FLY
MacNeil
55.83
| 2 | Sarah SJOSTROM | SWE | 56.2 | 07/22 |
| 3 | Emma McKEON | AUS | 56.61 | 04/22 |
| 4 | Marie WATTEL | FRA | 57.00 | 07/21 |
| 5 | Brianna THROSSELL | AUS | 57.02 | 07/21 |
Finally, as a sign of her versatility, Shkurdai wreaked havoc on the 200m backstroke National Record as well, blasting the previous mark of 2:14.09 by setting a new standard at 2:10.58. The previous record was represented by Aliaksandra Kavaleva’s 2:14.09 from 12 years ago, while Shkurdai’s own previous career fastest was marked by the 2:14.49 hit 2 years ago.
All told at the end of the Championships, 4 Belarusian athletes made the European Junior Championships:
- Anastasiya Shkurdai – 50 butterfly, 100 butterfly, 50 back, 200 back
- Alena Semizhon – 50 backstroke and 100 freestyle
- Ivan Shamshurin – 200 butterfly
- Arseny Borzhakov – 50 butterfly
The following 3 athletes qualified for the World Junior Championships:
- Anastasiya Shkurdai – 50 butterfly, 100 butterfly, 50 back, 200 back
- Alena Semizhon – 100 freestyle
- Arseny Borzhakov – 50 butterfly
Another great young butterfly prodigy. Wang Yichun (April 2005) swam 26.04/58.32 last month just before her 14th birthday, and Aleksandra Sabitova (Jan 2004), who went 59.42 at the age of 12 and was 58.18 last year aged 14.
Remarkable improvements for this great talent.
Interesting 2.10 in 200 back for a young swimmer known particularly for her strenght in the 50s (fly and back)
PS YOG were in Buenos Aires, not Jakarta😉
Well DANG