Yuliya Yefimova

Yuliya Andreyevna Yefimova (Russian: Юлия Андреевна Ефимова, also romanized Efimova; born 3 April 1992) is a Russian competitive swimmer. After making her Olympic debut in 2008, she went on to win the bronze medal in the 200 metres breaststroke in 2012, and silver medals in the 100 metres and 200 metres breaststroke in 2016. She is a six-time World Champion, winning the 50 metres breaststroke (2009 and 2013), the 100 metres breaststroke (2015), and the 200 metres breaststroke (2013, 2017 and 2019). She is also a former world record holder in the 50 metres breaststroke.

In this Slavic name, the family name "Yefimova" is sometimes transliterated as "Efimova".

Yuliya Yefimova

Efimova in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Yuliya Andreyevna Yefimova
National team	Russia
Born	(1992-04-03) 3 April 1992 Grozny, Russia[1]
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Weight	64 kg (141 lb)[2]
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Breaststroke
Club	Volgodonsk Swim Club
Coach	Dave Salo Formerly Andrey Yefimov
Medal record Representing  Russia Olympic Games 2016 Rio de Janeiro 100 m breaststroke 2016 Rio de Janeiro 200 m breaststroke 2012 London 200 m breaststroke World Championships (LC) 2009 Rome 50 m breaststroke 2013 Barcelona 50 m breaststroke 2013 Barcelona 200 m breaststroke 2015 Kazan 100 m breaststroke 2017 Budapest 200 m breaststroke 2019 Gwangju 200 m breaststroke 2009 Rome 100 m breaststroke 2011 Shanghai 50 m breaststroke 2011 Shanghai 200 m breaststroke 2013 Barcelona 100 m breaststroke 2017 Budapest 50 m breaststroke 2017 Budapest 4x100 m medley 2019 Gwangju 100 m breaststroke 2013 Barcelona 4×100 m medley 2015 Kazan 50 m breaststroke 2017 Budapest 100 m breaststroke 2019 Gwangju 50 m breaststroke World Championships (SC) 2008 Manchester 200 m breaststroke European Championships (LC) 2008 Eindhoven 200 m breaststroke 2010 Budapest 50 m breaststroke 2010 Budapest 100 m breaststroke 2018 Glasgow 50 m breaststroke 2018 Glasgow 100 m breaststroke 2018 Glasgow 200 m breaststroke 2018 Glasgow 4×100 m medley 2008 Eindhoven 50 m breaststroke 2008 Eindhoven 4×100 m medley 2018 Glasgow 4×100 m mixed medley European Championships (SC) 2007 Debrecen 50 m breaststroke 2007 Debrecen 100 m breaststroke 2007 Debrecen 200 m breaststroke Universiade 2013 Kazan 50 m breaststroke 2013 Kazan 100 m breaststroke 2013 Kazan 200 m breaststroke 2013 Kazan 4×100 m medley

In January 2014, it was announced that Yefimova had failed an out of competition drug test in October 2013.[3] Her positive test was for DHEA, an endogenous steroid hormone banned in professional sports.[4] On 13 May 2014, she was disqualified for 16 months, from 31 October 2013, until 28 February 2015.[5]

Personal life

Yefimova was born in Grozny, but due to the First Chechen War her family moved to Volgodonsk. There she took up swimming at the age of six, coached by her father Andrey Yefimov.[6] Until 2011, she lived in Taganrog, where she trained under Irina Vyatchanina and studied at the Southern Federal University.[6] In March that year, she moved to California, United States, where she is coached by Dave Salo, the head coach of the University of Southern California swimming team.[7]

Swimming career

Yefimova in 2010.

Yefimova's first notable achievement was winning the 50 m, 100 m and 200 m breaststroke titles at the 2007 European Short Course Swimming Championships. At the 2008 European Aquatics Championships she was the gold medalist in 200 m breaststroke and silver medalist in 50 m. She participated at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, reaching fourth place in 100 m and fifth place in 200 m breaststroke.[1]

In 2010, Yefimova won gold medals at the 2010 European Aquatics Championships in 50 m and 100 m breaststroke. In 2012, Yefimova received bronze in 200 m at the 2012 Summer Olympics, with 2:20.92. A year later at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona she triumphed in 200 m with 2:19.41. In the 50 m heats event, the Russian achieved a new world record of 29.78 which was broken in the semifinals by Rūta Meilutytė. Yefimova won the finals with 29.52.[8]

Yefimova during the 100 m event at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships

After 16 months of disqualification due to a positive drug test, Yefimova in August 2015 for the first time won the gold medal in 100 m at the World Aquatics Championships, with 1:05.66. In 50 m she was third with 30.13. However, in 200 m she was eliminated in the semifinals; she was 17th.

In June 2016, Yefimova returned at the Los Angeles Invitational, winning in 200 m with 2:22.77.[9] Yefimova became silver medalist at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the 100 m and 200m breaststroke.[10][11]

2017

In the 2017 New South Wales State Open Championships in March, Yefimova won the 200 m breaststroke event with a time of 2:28.80.[12] and won the 100 m breaststroke with a time of 1:06.55.[13] A month later, she won the 50 m breaststroke at the 2017 Russian Championships with a time of 29.88.[14]

In July 2017 at the World Championships in Budapest, Yefimova won the bronze medal in the 100 metres breaststroke in 1:05.04. Three days later, she won the 200 metres breaststroke in 2:19.64, to give her the fifth World Championship title of her career.[15]

Doping scandals

In January 2014, it was announced that Yefimova had failed an out of competition drug test in October 2013.[3] Her positive test was for DHEA, an endogenous steroid hormone banned in professional sports.[4] On 13 May 2014, she was disqualified for 16 months, from 31 October 2013, until 28 February 2015.[5] She was also stripped of her results and medals at the 2013 European Short Course Championships. Her four world short-course records (two relays and the 50 metres and 200 metres breaststroke set in November/December 2013) were also invalidated.[3][16][17][18]

Between 15 February and 30 March 2016, Yefimova tested positive for meldonium six times in total.[19] She was provisionally suspended from international competition by the International Swimming Federation (FINA) on 14 March.[20] With no research on how long the drug stayed in a person's system, she was not banned or given a suspension.[21][22][23]

2016 Olympics controversy

Yefimova's participation in the 2016 Summer Olympics was controversial in light of an ongoing scandal of doping within the Russian Olympic Team.[22] She was initially banned from participation due to her previous doping suspension,[24] but this ban was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport,[25] allowing her to compete. During the Games, she was booed by spectators during each of her races. Yefimova was also criticized for taking performance-enhancing drugs by other swimmers, including Lilly King, who won the gold medal in the 100 m breaststroke. Yefimova won the silver, and during the news conference afterwards, she was "on the verge of tears from the opening question about the boos directed at her."[26][27]

Awards and honors

• Russian Female Swimmer of the Year (2008 and 2015)[6]
• Honorary citizen of Volgodonsk (since 2008)[28]
• Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (2012)[6]
• Order of Friendship (2016)[29]

Olympic and World Championship results

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Russia
2008	Olympic Games	Beijing, China	4th	100 m breaststroke	1:07.43
			5th	200 m breaststroke	2:23.76
			5th	4 × 100 m medley relay	3:57.84
2009	World Championships	Rome, Italy	1st	50 m breaststroke	30.09
			2nd	100 m breaststroke	1:05.41
			14th (sf)	200 m breaststroke	2:26.39
2011	World Championships	Shanghai, China	2nd	50 m breaststroke	30.49
			4th	100 m breaststroke	1:06.56
			2nd	200 m breaststroke	2:22.22
			4th	4 × 100 m medley relay	3:57.38
2012	Olympic Games	London, United Kingdom	7th	100 m breaststroke	1:06.98
			3rd	200 m breaststroke	2:20.92
			4th	4 × 100 m medley relay	3:56.03
2013	World Championships	Barcelona, Spain	1st	50 m breaststroke	29.52
			2nd	100 m breaststroke	1:05.02
			1st	200 m breaststroke	2:19.41
			3rd	4 × 100 m medley relay	3:56.47
2015	World Championships	Kazan, Russia	3rd	50 m breaststroke	30.13
			1st	100 m breaststroke	1:05.66
			17th (h)	200 m breaststroke	2:26.11
			5th	4 × 100 m mixed medley relay	3:44.83
2016	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	2nd	100 m breaststroke	1:05.50
			2nd	200 m breaststroke	2:21.97
			6th	4 × 100 m medley relay	3:55.66
2017	World Championships	Budapest, Hungary	2nd	50 m breaststroke	29.57
			3rd	100 m breaststroke	1:05.05
			1st	200 m breaststroke	2:19.64
			14th (sf)	200 m individual medley	2:12.88
			2nd	4 × 100 m medley relay	3:53.38
2019	World Championships	Gwangju, Korea	3rd	50 m breaststroke	30.15
			2nd	100 m breaststroke	1:05.49
			1st	200 m breaststroke	2:20.17
(#) Indicates overall position achieved in the qualifying heats (h) or semifinals (sf)

See also

• World record progression 50 metres breaststroke

References

1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Yuliya Yefimova". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
2. "Iuliia Efimova", London2012.com, archived from the original on 26 April 2013, retrieved 8 September 2016
3. "Yuliya Efimova Banned for 16 Months; Stripped of World Records". Swimming World. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
4. Russian Olympic Medal-Winning Swimmer Efimova Fails Doping Test – Report. En.ria.ru (17 January 2014). Retrieved 8 September 2016.
5. "Russian swimmer Yulia Yefimova disqualified for 1 year and 4 months for doping". Information Telegraph Agency of Russia. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
6. Yulia Efimova Archived 11 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine. nbcolympics.com/
7. "Ефимова уехала тренироваться в США" [Yefimova moved to USA for training] (in Russian). Sport-Express. 6 March 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
8. Women's 50m Breaststroke Final. 5th FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS Barcelona (ESP) 19 July – 4 August 2013. omegatiming.com
9. "Yuliya Efimova Returns to Competition in Los Angeles". swimmingworldmagazine.com. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
10. Yeveny Slyusarenko (9 August 2016). "Одна капля сочувствия. Почему Юля Ефимова – повод для гордости" [A Mite of Consolation. Why Yuliya Yefimova is a Ground for Pride] (in Russian). Championat.com. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
11. "Rie Kaneto wins gold in women's 200m breaststroke". NBC Olympics. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
12. "Emily Seebohm, Yulia Efimova Strong on Second Day of NSW Open". Swimming World News. 4 March 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
13. "2017 SNSW State Open Championships – Day 1". nsw.swimming.org.au. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
14. "Yuliya Efimova* Guns For More Honours: 29.88 Dash Books Ticket To World Titles". SwimVortex. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
15. "17th FINA World Championships". 2017 World Aquatics Championships Official site. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
16. "Omega Timing – Results – FINA Swimming World Cup 2013 Tokyo 7/8 Tokyo Japan 11/9/2013 – 11/10/2013". OMEGA Timing. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
17. "2013 European Short Course Swimming Championships. Results Day 2" (PDF). LEN. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
18. "Yuliya Efimova Banned for 16 Months; Stripped of World Records". swimmingworldmagazine.com. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
19. FINA, Communications Department (15 July 2016). "July 15, 2016 FINA Statement on Yulia Efimova". FINA. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
20. FINA, Communications Department (16 July 2016). "May 15, 2016, PR 46 – FINA statement on Ms Yulia Efimova". FINA. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
21. Rogers, Martin (8 August 2016). "U.S. swimmer Lilly King calls out Russian drug cheat with strong words, finger wag". USA Today. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
22. Press, Associated (6 August 2016). "Russian swimmer Yulia Efimova on 100m breaststroke start list". NBC. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
23. FINA, Communications Department (15 July 2016). "July 15, 1016 FINA Statement on Yulia Efimova". FINA. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
24. Baldwin, Alan (25 July 2016). "Efimova, six other Russians ruled out of Rio". Reuters. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
25. "Rio 2016 Olympics: Yulia Efimova cleared to compete after appeal". BBC Sport. 6 August 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
26. Clarey, Christopher and Crouse, Karen (9 August 2016) "In the Olympic Pool, Contempt for Drug Cheats Rises to the Surface". The New York Times.
27. "American Beats Russian Swimming Star Yefimova Amid Snipes Over Doping". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
28. РЕШЕНИЕ № 84 от 4 июня 2008 года. gorduma.org (4 June 2008)
29. Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 25 August 2016 № 429 «О награждении государственными наградами Российской Федерации». pravo.gov.ru (25 August 2016)

External links

• Yuliya Yefimova at FINA
• Yuliya Yefimova at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
• Yuliya Yefimova at the International Olympic Committee

Records
Preceded by Rūta Meilutytė	Women's 100 m breaststroke European record holder (long course) 5 August 2018 – present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by Nađa Higl	Women's 200 m breaststroke European record holder (long course) 2 August 2012 – 29 March 2013	Succeeded by Rikke Møller Pedersen
Preceded by Amanda Reason Jessica Hardy	Women's 50 m breaststroke world record holder (long course) 2 – 6 August 2009 3 August 2013	Succeeded by Jessica Hardy Rūta Meilutytė