2 men and 1 woman will represent Estonia at Tokyo 2020 Olympics, according to the official entry list for the Games.
Estonian Olympic Swimming Roster – Tokyo 2020
- Kregor Zirk – Men’s 100/200 butterfly, 200/400 freestyle
- Martin Allikvee – Men’s 200 breaststroke
- Eneli Jefimova – Women’s 100/200 breaststroke
Among the 3 entrants for Estonia at the 2020 Games, Martin Allikvee is the only returning Olympian, having raced the 200 breaststroke in Rio back in 2016. There, he notched a 2:13.66 for 33rd overall. Since then Allikvee has lowered the Estonian national record in the event to a 2:10.63 which he hit at the 2019 Budapest Open Championships.
Allikvee also swam the event at the 2019 World Championships and placed 19th overall in a 2:10.66. His current season best in the event is a bit slower than his PB, sitting at a 2:11.56 from April 2021 and the Swim Open in Stockholm. He also swam the event at the 2021 European Swimming Championships for Estonia and placed 22nd with a 2:12.80.
Kregor Zirk will be making his Olympic debut in Tokyo but has raced for Estonia a number of times including at the 2017 and 2019 World Swimming Championships. While he didn’t make any semi-finals at either meet, he performed much better in 2019 than in 2017. At Budapest 2017 Zirk’s top finish was in the 100 butterfly where he finished 43rd with a 53.70. He also swam the 100 and 200 freestyles, placing 49th with a 1:51.08 and 56th with a 51.00, respectively.
In 2019 Zirk added the 200 butterfly to his lineup and placed 22nd overall with a 1:58.04 national record. He also set new NRs in the 200 and 400 freestyles with a 1:48.51 for 26th place and a 3:51.30 for 19th. In the 100 butterfly, he swam a 52.92 for 23rd. He will swim the same 4 events in Tokyo this summer.
The 3rd member of the Estonian Olympic squad is Eneli Jefimova and she will be one of the youngest swimmers at the Games at only 14 years old. Jefimova has not had much international experience thus far but got 2 opportunities to represent Estonia ahead of this year’s Olympic Games.
She recently raced at both the European Swimming Championships and placed 8th in the women’s 100 breaststroke with a 1:06.83 and 24th in the 200 breaststroke with 2:28.64. A few weeks later she took gold in the 100 and silver in the 200 breaststroke at the 2021 European Junior Swimming Championships. She hit a 1:07.24 for silver in the 100 and a 2:28.01 for second place in the 200.
Estonia’s 2020 Olympic roster represents a 1-swimmer growth from their contingent of 2 back in 2016 which featured Allikvee and Maria Romanjuk. Estonia also sent 2 swimmers to the Games in 2012 in the form of Martin Liivamägi and Triin Aljand but had a much larger roster back in 2008 when they sent a total of 9 swimmers. The country also sent more than they will in 2004 (6) and 2000 (4) but no swimmers have qualified for a semi-final since 200 when Jana Kolukanova finished 16th in the 50 freestyle with a 26.03.