Katja Fain wins bronze at European Swimming Championship
Kazan, 7 November - Katja Fain has secured a bronze for Slovenia in the women's 200 metre freestyle at the European Short Course Swimming Championship in Kazan, Russia.
Tokyo, Japan
Slovenian swimmer Katja Fain
Photo: Anže Malovrh/STA
File photo
The 20-year-old clocked 1:53.88 minutes to set a new national record, with a 0.3 gap to Czech Barbora Seemanova in second and an 1.13 lag behind the winner Marrit Steenbergen of the Netherlands.
Slovenia's success was rounded off by Janja Šegel, who placed fourth, at 1:55.96.
Earlier, Peter John Stevens finished 7th in the 50 metre breaststroke.
Fain's is the 101st medal for Slovenia at major swimming competitions and the first at European short course championships after a space of six years. Damir Dugonjić last won gold in the 50m breaststroke in 2015.
Hailing from Maribor, Fain has swimming in her blood, the news website www.rtvslo.si has reported.
Her mother and personal coach Metka Sparavec won Slovenia's first medal in Olympic-size swimming pools at the 1999 European Championship in Istanbul in the 50m backstroke.
Her father is Russian swimmer Aleksander Fain.