2024 RUSSIAN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- April 14-19, 2024
- Kazan, Russia
- LCM (50 meters)
- Meet Central
- Live Results
- Livestream
The 2024 Russian Swimming Championships kicked off on Sunday from Kazan, and through the first day racing, there have been several notable swims produced. Finals of the men’s 200 freestyle and women’s 400 IM were on the docket along with semifinals of the women’s 50 breast, men’s 100 breast, women’s 50 back and men’s 100 back. The men’s 4×100 free relay and women’s 4×200 free relay also appeared on the schedule.
Veteran Martin Malyutin showcased a strong back half to snag 200 free victory. The 24-year-old opened in 52.27 before closing in a scorching 53.56. His final time of 1:45.83 was enough to top the field by over a full second, but he was well shy of his best time (1:44.79) from the 2021 European Championships.
28-year-old Mikhail Dovgalyuk was 2nd behind Malyutin in the final and represented the only other man under 1:47. He hit the wall in a time of 1:46.98, though he owns a career-best 1:45.56 from the 2019 World Championships. Vladislav Reznichenko (1:47.43) and 2005-born Roman Akimov (1:47.82) rounded out the top four.
In the women’s 400 IM, Daria Rogozhinova, an up-and-comer born in 2006, defeated the field in a time of 4:44.77. Rogozhinova ripped an eight second best time at last July’s Russian Cup, where she stopped the clock in 4:44.04 to narrowly miss the Russian junior record (4:43.44).
The women’s 50 breast semifinals saw Yulia Efimova and Tatiana Belonogoff post matching 30.69 times. 200 breast world record holder Evgeniia Chikunova (30.99) sits in 3rd as we head into the final in just 24 hours, just about a half second off her best time of 30.54 from this meet last year. Efimova holds the Russian record in this 50m sprint, courtesy of her 29.52 clocking at the 2013 World Championships.
24-year-old Maria Kameneva led all qualifiers in the women’s 50 back. She finished as the only sub-28 performer of the session with her swim of 27.73. She holds the Russian record in the 50 free and was particularly close to her best time in this 50 back (27.66), which she’ll have a chance to challenge tomorrow.
The men’s 100 back showcased two sub-53 performances, with 18-year-old rising star Miron Lifintsev posting a new best time of 52.62. He opened in 25.46 through the first 50 meters before closing in 27.16 to take down his previous best (52.96) from July.
50 backstroke world record holder, Kliment Kolesnikov, touched in 52.98 to claim the 2nd seed for tomorrow’s final. He opened his race slightly faster than Lifinstsev with an opening split of 25.24, but shut things down over the final 20 meters. Kolesnikov bagged silver in this 100m distance at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Last July, Kolesnikov recorded a 51.82 in this event to become the 2nd fastest performer of all-time. Lifinstsev sits just 0.13 outside Kolesnikov’s World Junior record of 52.53 from 2018.
Defending Olympic Champion Evgeny Rylov (53.95) is lurking in 6th position.
Three swimmers cracked the 1-minute barrier in the men’s 100 breast semifinals, with Danil Semianinov (59.87) leading the charge ahead of Kirill Prigoda (59.88) and Ivan Kozhakin (59.94). Semianinov is very close to his best time of 59.66 from 2022, so that’s a benchmark to watch for in Monday’s final. Prigoda, a Russian National team mainstay, will start as favorite for Monday’s final. Prigoda’s best time stands at 58.92 and he clocked 58.98 at this meet a year ago. Kozhakin notched a bronze medal-winning time of 59.04 in 2023 which still stands as his career best.
Egor Kornev led St. Petersburg to the 4×100 free relay gold medal with a best time leading-off his squad. He opened in 47.87 to eclipse his previous best of 48.03 from last July. Alexey Pavlov (49.36), Vasily Kukushkin (48.45), and Alexander Shchegolev (48.56) contributed to the winning performance of 3:14.24.
Andrei Minakov led off Tatarstan’s 4th place relay in 48.38, although he owns a career-best time of 47.57.
In the women’s 4×200 free relay, Tatarsan’s quartet of Sofia Dyakova (1:59.83), Daria Ustinova (2:02.52), Anastasia Kolpakova (2:01.07), and Valeria Salamatina (1:59.58) outpaced the field by 1.5 seconds for the title in 8:03.00.
Though World Aquatics approved the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes as neutrals in early September, many high profile athletes have stated that they won’t compete at the Paris Olympics. World record holders Kliment Kolesnikov and Evgeniia Chikunova are among the swimmers that are not willing to swim as neutrals.
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You always have to wonder if they’re swimming a clean race.
Love some fast Russian swimming! Downvote me nerds
Kolesnikov’s beard is absolutely insane
I just watched it, very controlled swim by him and great beard indeed
Is there still drug testing for Russians?
After RUSADA cleared that figure skating of any wrong doing and said it was a result of taking her grandpa’s medication, they lost all credibility with me.
Give me my Meldonium!
That’s fast