Russia has selected a 15-year-old girl to compete in the pool at the Olympic Games in London this August, Russia’s head swim coach Andrei Vorontsov said Saturday.
Maria Baklakova will be part of the women’s 4 x 200 meter relay team after finishing third in the 200 meter freestyle at the Russian trials Saturday.
“She’ll swim in the 4 x 200 meter relay, I guarantee that to the girl,” Vorontsov said.
Australia has long had a tradition of fielding teenage swimmers such as Shane Gould, who won three Olympic gold medals aged 15 in 1972. Russia could emulate this, Vorontsov said.
“It shouldn’t be the case that only the Australians have such young ones, but we should too. That’s how it should be, that happens periodically.”
Earlier Saturday, Russia suffered a blow when none of its female swimmers met the qualification standard for the 100 and 200 meter freestyle and 100 meter butterfly, leaving Russia without an entry in those events at the Olympics.
