Leading up to the Games, she fired off a fantastic 2:14.13 to wrest the 200 m individual medley title and slide under the FINA A-cut (2:15.27) at the Santa Clara Invitational meet in California.

First, she fought off a sprint freestyle challenge from Mexico's Susana Escobar in heat two of the 400 m individual medley, before fading to sixth place and thirty-first overall in 4:50.22.

[9] Half an hour later, Karpeeva and her Russian teammates Daria Belyakina, Yelena Sokolova, and Anastasia Aksenova claimed a distant sixth spot and twelfth overall in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay with a time of 3:42.52.

[11] One night earlier, she scored a solid 2:12.94 on the rear of the dominant breaststroke leg to grab the last semifinal seed, following her fourth-place finish in heat four.

[12][13] Karpeeva is also a resident athlete of King Aquatic Club in Federal Way, Washington, where she trained with numerous world-class swimmers including Margaret Hoelzer and Megan Jendrick of the United States, and Heather Brand, a butterfly specialist from Zimbabwe.