| Rank | Event | Year | Location | Result |
| Olympic Games | ||||
| 4 | 100m Breaststroke | 2008 | Beijing, CHN | 1:07.43 |
| 5 | 200m Breaststroke | 2008 | Beijing, CHN | 2:23.76 |
| 5 | 4 x 100m Medley Relay | 2008 | Beijing, CHN | 3:57.84 |
| World Championships | ||||
| 1 | 50m Breaststroke | 2009 | Rome, ITA | 30.09 |
| 2 | 50m Breaststroke | 2011 | Shanghai, CHN | 30.49 |
| 2 | 200m Breaststroke | 2011 | Shanghai, CHN | 2:22.22 |
| 2 | 100m Breaststroke | 2009 | Rome, ITA | 1:05.41 |
| 4 | 100m Breaststroke | 2011 | Shanghai, CHN | 1:06.56 |
| 4 | 4 x 100m Medley Relay | 2011 | Shanghai, CHN | 3:57.38 |
| Semifinal | 200m Breaststroke | 2009 | Rome, ITA | 2:26.39 |
| Heats | 200m Individual Medley | 2011 | Shanghai, CHN | 2:15.56 |
| European Championships | ||||
| 1 | 50m Breaststroke | 2010 | Budapest, HUN | 30.29 |
| 1 | 100m Breaststroke | 2010 | Budapest, HUN | 1:06.32 |
| 8 | 4 x 100m Medley Relay | 2010 | Budapest, HUN | DSQ |
| World Championships Short Course | ||||
| 4 | 50m Breaststroke | 2010 | Dubai, UAE | 29.99 |
| 4 | 200m Breaststroke | 2010 | Dubai, UAE | 2:19.69 |
| 4 | 4 x 100m Medley Relay | 2010 | Dubai, UAE | 3:53.08 |
| 7 | 100m Breaststroke | 2010 | Dubai, UAE | 1:05.50 |
Hobbies
Drawing and painting. (i-swimmer.ru, 17 Apr 2008)
Occupation
Student
Education
Geography - Southern Federal University, Rostov-na-Donu, RUS
Club name
Volgodonsk Swim Club, Volgodonsk, RUS
Coach
Irina Germanovna Vyatchanina (RUS) from 2005 (down-the-line.com, 03 Aug 2011)
Position and style
Breaststroke (i-swimmer.ru, 17 Apr 2008)
Other sports
Her father Andrey Mikhaylovich Efimov is a coach of swimming. (sportsmeny.com, 12 Aug 2010)
Injuries
She swam with an injured leg at the FINA World Championships in Rome in 2009. (izvestia.ru, 03 Aug 2009)
Additional information
Start of sporting career
In Volgodonsk, Russia. She started swimming as a child and took up training at the age of 6-7. (sportsmeny.com, 12 Aug 2010; bbc.co.uk, 04 May 2010)
Reason for taking up this sport
She went in for acrobatics first but her father suggested she should start swimming. He was her first coach. (sportsmeny.com, 12 Aug 2010)
Ambitions
"I want to become a designer!"
To win at the Olympic Games in London. (i-swimmer.ru, 17 Apr 2008; bbc.co.uk, 04 May 2010)
Training
Usually she does 11 swimming sessions of 5 to 6 km each. She does a lot of flexibility work with stretch-cords, weights, and a lot of jumps. She does some form of land work every day for 40 to 45 minutes in the morning and 1 to 1.5 hours in the afternoon. (swimnews.swimfacts.com, 24 Oct 2011)
Most memorable sporting achievement
Setting her first world record in 2009 and winning a gold medal at the 2009 FINA World Championships in Rome. (FINA Aquatics World Magazine, 20 Feb 2011)
Hero
"I never had idols, only a goal - to win at the Olympic Games." (rostovsport.ru, 24 Sep 2009)
Superstitions / Rituals
Her talisman is a rabbit, a soft toy. (i-swimmer.ru, 17 Apr 2008)
Sporting philosophy / motto
"Sport is a small life or even more."
" I try to be the first everywhere." (i-swimmer.ru, 17 Apr 2008 & peoples.ru, 16 Jul 2009)
Awards
"The Best Athlete 2009". "The Best Swimmer 2008" and "Newcomer of the Year".
"The Honoured Citizen of the City of Volgodonsk" in 2008. (sportsmeny.com, 12 Aug 2010 & bbc.co.uk, 04 May 2010)
General
RUSSIAN FIRST
Her gold medal at the FINA World Championships in Rome in 2009 was the first in women's swimming since 1991 in Russia. There she set a new world record in 50m breaststroke. (bbc.co.uk, 04 May 2010)
Previous Olympics
Beijing 2008
