Maria Kameneva won in the 100 m freestyle with the new Russian record – 51.79. This is her third gold medal at the second stage of the Solidarity Games. Vlada Eggi became the best in the 200 m backstroke (2:06.08), and Anna Egorova came in first in the 800 m freestyle – 8:19.03. Yana Shakirova has one more record. She set a junior national record in the semifinals of the 100 m individual medley – 59.86.
"I wanted to break the record, but l wasn't thinking of that much, I was just trying to do better. And I ended up breaking the Russian record. The first three days were very challenging for me, and tomorrow we are starting the 50 m heats. I will relax a bit and have fun, instead of just rushing between swimming races," Maria Kameneva said.
"I am extremely happy with the result. I expected much less. Most of my experience has been with 100 m. I wanted to qualify for a new category and shine on the podium. The category of the international master of sports has been fulfilled, I am on the podium," Vlada Eggi noted.
"I am glad to win this race. This is my second week and third competition and I'm already tired. Plus, the training that I started a month ago was not enough. We will try harder for the April. I don't really like short course, because making turns is not my thing. I am expecting good results with the long course in April," Anna Egorova told.
There was one more record in the men’s programme. Kliment Kolesnikov broke the record in the 50 m backstroke semifinal – 22.31. Kirill Prigoda came in first in the 200 m breaststroke (2:02.70), Andrey Minakov won in the 100 m butterfly – 49.92. A Belarus team with Viktor Staselovich, Ilya Shymanovich, Anastasia Kulyashova and Anastasia Karakovskaya scored a victory in the mixed 4x50 m relay (1:38.63).
"It was time to work, I wanted to perform the best. I'm still getting in shape. My vacation was quite late. The best is yet to come. I have a goal to beat my world record. And the reality is that we need to work and build on what we have today,"Kirill Prigoda declared.
"It was not so much about the time, as to show what you have got at this distance. I came here to support my country. It is very important to take part in competitions of this level in the present state of affairs. I was preparing for this start, worked hard, tuned in to show a decent result," Andrey Minakov shared his impressions.
On Wednesday, athletes will compete for eight more sets of medals.