When did Lithuania last have such a talented swimmer after Rūta Meilutytė?
Even the most decorated athlete in the stands must have been surprised to see what a compatriot 12 years younger is doing now in Paris.
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16-year-old Ieva Jurkūnaitė made her debut this week at the European Swimming Championships but immediately contends for the top spots.
In the 200 m freestyle semifinal, the Varėna native swam in 1 min. 56.90 sec. and qualified for the final, which will take place Thursday evening at the Paris Olympic Aquatic Center.
The Lithuanian was only behind the best European swimmer of 2025, the Dutch Marrit Steenbergen (1:56.35), and took second place in the first semifinal. This secured a direct ticket to the final.
In the morning, the daughter of former basketball player Andrius Jurkūnas swam in 1 min. 57.28 sec., breaking the national record set this year by Sylvia Statkevičius.
On Wednesday evening, after leaving the Paris pool filled with 5,000 spectators, I. Jurkūnaitė explained in an interview what makes her progress so quickly in swimming competitions.
– Ieva, impressive performance, how would you describe your emotions?
– As I have said before, after the finish I can’t see the result (due to vision), so I asked the coach. It was really a shock when I heard it was 1 min. 56 sec.
I am very happy and looking forward to the final.
– Is it possible to do even better?
– I will need to watch the recording to see how everything went. Now I think I gave it my all. But I still hope that on Thursday evening I can swim even faster.
– This morning you talked about how you fell in love with swimming in Varėna as a child. Could that little girl have imagined reaching such heights at the European Championships at 16?
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– Actually, yes. Since I was little, I always thought and made plans for myself that I need to do this, I need to do that. That was my demand to myself – to reach the final and achieve such results.
– How do you set such serious goals at such a young age? Genetics?
– Yes, genetics – both my parents were athletes (father – basketball player Andrius Jurkūnas, mother – handball player). And I always want to push myself higher, I always want to be first.
– At the European Youth Championships, where you were fourth this summer, you talked a lot about psychology. What helps you stay strong here?
– After the European Youth Championships, I really worked on myself psychologically. I try to calm down before the start, think not about swimming, but about anything else.
Breathing exercises and calmness walking to the starting block.
– During the race, how much did you watch your competitors? For example, this time you swam third for most of the race but surged into second place at the finish.
– I tried to do everything I could. I saw them passing me, but at the end I pushed as much as I had left.
– Do you have role models in this distance, especially since we have serious specialists among men in this event?
– Not really. I look at my own results and try to surpass myself.
– How did the coaches react to the results?
– They were very happy, very satisfied. Of course, I would be glad if Paulius Andrijauskas were here. The current head coach Paulius Pavilionis was also pleased.
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