Inna Nikitina
Ukrainian former swimmer (born 1982)
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Inna Nikitina (Ukrainian: Інна Нікітіна; born 12 September 1982) is a Ukrainian former swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke events.[1] She is a 2000 Olympian, a fourth-place finalist at the European Championships, and a multiple-time national age group champion. During her sporting career, Nikitina trained for Dynamo Kryvyi Rih's swim team under her longtime coach and mentor Viktor Zheltyakov.[2]
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Inna Nikitina |
| National team |  Ukraine |
| Born | 12 September 1982 |
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) |
| Weight | 59 kg (130 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Strokes | Breaststroke |
| Club | Dynamo Kryvyi Rih |
| Coach | Viktor Zheltyakov |
Nikitina made her Olympic debut, as a 14-year-old teen, at the 1997 European Aquatics Championships in Seville, Spain, where she finished off the podium in the 200 m breaststroke with a fourth-place time of 2:29.76.[3] The following year, at the 1998 FINA World Championships in Perth, Australia, Nikitina placed eighteenth from the prelims in the 200 m breaststroke at 2:33.18.[4]
At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Nikitina competed only in the women's 200 m breaststroke. She achieved a FINA B-cut of 2:33.39 from the Ukrainian Championships in Kyiv.[5] She challenged seven other swimmers in heat two, including teenagers Nicolette Teo of Singapore (aged 14) and Siow Yi Ting (aged 16). Entering the race with a fastest entry time, Nikitina seized off a powerful lead at the final turn until she dropped her pace on the final stretch to a second seed in 2:34.20, almost a full second behind leader İlkay Dikmen of Turkey. Nikitina failed to advance into the semifinals, as she placed twenty-sixth overall in the prelims.[6][7]
