Maari Randväli swims an Estonian record at the Nordic Championships

TALLINN – 16-year-old Maari Randväli set a new Estonian record in the 50-meter backstroke on Friday at the Nordic Swimming Championships in Iceland.

Randväli swam the distance in 27.67 seconds, shaving 0.24 seconds off the previous Estonian record held by Mariangela Boitšuk. This performance also broke the national youth and junior records. The previous youth record in the backstroke sprint (28.63) was set just two weeks ago in Kohtla-Järve by Lenna-Marii Pruunlep, matching the time set by Sigrid Sepp.

The previous junior and senior Estonian records were both held by Mariangela Boitšuk with times of 28.09 and 27.91, respectively. Randväli now holds the national records for the 50-meter backstroke in both long and short course pools.

In the same event, 14-year-old Emily-Pärli Jäärats set a new Estonian girls' record, sprinting to a time of 28.98. Her previous personal best was 29.81. The former girls' record of 29.15 had been held by Laura-Liis Valdmaa since 2018.