Kotryna Teterevkova did not push to the limit to reach the semifinals of the European Championship.
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In the qualifying competition on Thursday morning in the 200 m breaststroke, she was first in one of the three heats, fifth overall in the qualifiers with a time of 2 min. 26.27 sec.
This ensured a calm path to the semifinals, where 16 swimmers will compete on Thursday evening.
“I expected it to be harder, but many competitors saved themselves after yesterday’s final (100 m breaststroke), so I also tried to advance to the next stage without exhausting myself,” said the 24-year-old from Vilnius. “I swam calmly.”
For this championship, she chose a different strategy when selecting events.
K.Teterevkova usually swims all three individual breaststroke events – 50, 100, and 200 m, but this time she gave up swimming the 100 meters, like Rūta Meilutytė, who will only swim 50 meters in Paris this weekend.
K.Teterevkova would be competitive in the 100 m breaststroke as well; she has swum in finals at the highest level competitions, but she often performs better in the 200-meter distance, where she has won bronze medals at the European Championships in 2022 and 2025.
So midweek, when her usual rivals competed in the 100-meter heats, semifinals, and finals, was freer for Kotryna this time.
“It was somewhat strange when all the girls, the hundred-meter swimmers, were preparing, going around in swimsuits, and I felt lighter because I usually swam myself in the mornings and evenings. It was strange to do too little for a few days, wander around, and wait for my start later,” said K.Teterevkova.
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Now she often gets asked by acquaintances why she is not swimming the 100 meters, so she has prepared a detailed answer.
“Usually, in recent championships, I swam the 100 m breaststroke final, and then the next morning I had to start the 200 meters. That is very exhausting – swimming both morning and evening – it’s hard. So my coach and I decided that we want to save energy for the main distance – 200 m, and skip the 100 m,” said K.Teterevkova. “Now I feel much fresher. The 200 m event requires freshness because it is a long distance. I haven’t improved my record for four years (K.Teterevkova holds the Lithuanian record set in 2022 – 2 min. 22.86 sec.), and it is really hard to improve due to fatigue. So I will see how it goes, how the result improves because of this freshness.”
So far in Paris, K.Teterevkova’s days have gone calmly.
“Pool and room,” the swimmer described her daily routine.
On Thursday afternoon in Paris, the heat is expected to rise to 38 degrees Celsius, with a similar temperature forecast for Friday (39 degrees), but the swimmers, who rarely go outside, are not complaining yet.
“In the morning it’s still okay, but during the day I will definitely feel it,” said K.Teterevkova.
The hottest time in terms of sports is yet to come for her – if she reaches the final on Thursday evening, then the fight for medals awaits on Friday evening.
Last December at the European Championships in Lublin in a 25-meter pool, K.Teterevkova won bronze even while sick, and now she speaks cautiously about expectations:
“Usually, better results are in the 50-meter pool because we focus more on those competitions. However, very strong competitors came to this championship to swim the 200 meters, so I don’t burden myself – I swim my own race, and later we will see what place I get.”
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