Ieva Maluka Drops Five Seconds For Latvian 200 Fly Record
Ieva Maluka dropped more than five seconds on the 200 butterfly to set the Latvian record at the Bulldog Grand Slam at the University of Georgia on Friday.
Maluka entered with a best time of 2:20.20 from the Baltic States Championships in 2020. That is regarded by World Aquatics as the national record, though the Latvia Swimming Federation recognizes the 1981 time of 2:18.48 set by Vika Jurisone in a meet in Vilnius, Lithuania. That would be roughly a decade before the fall of the Soviet Union, at which point the Baltic states began competing individually.
Either way, Maluka was much faster on Friday at the Gabrielsen Natatorium. The Arizona State transfer went 2:16.81 in the morning, then nearly two seconds quicker at night to finish second in 2:14.90. It’s not fast by global standards, still a second shy of even the B cut for the 2025 World Championships. But it’s another Worlds option for the top-ranked Latvian swimmer, who has represented her country at each of the last two Olympics.
The win in the event went to Canadian international Mabel Zavaros, who went 2:11.57. That’s a Worlds B cut, as she preps toward Canadian’s qualification meets in June.
The first day of the meet featured a pair of wins by Tomas Koski. The Georgia swimmer and Finnish international went 49.61 in prelims of the 100 freestyle at 49.58 in finals, winning by nine tenths of a second. Koski remains in pursuit of the national record of 49.44 set in 2016 by Ari-Pekka Liukkonen.
Koski came back to win the 400 free in 3:52.26. Both times are Worlds B cuts. Both times came at the expense of Alabama swimmers, with Tim Korstanje second in the 100 free in 50.48 and Charlie Hawke the 400 free runner-up in 3:55.63.
Alabama’s Cadence Vincent dropped a full second off her best time to win the women’s 100 free in 54.50 seconds. She had gone 55.48 at the Atlanta Classic in 2024. Helena Jones was second.
Florida swimmer Mason Laur won the men’s 200 fly in 1:57.22, his margin more than three seconds.
The 100 breaststroke featured two close races. Evelyn Entrekin won the women’s race by .07 seconds over Charlotte Headland. Mark Underwood edged Noah Saylor by .01 seconds in the men’s 100 breast.
