2025 World Championships Previews: Kolesnikov Eyes First Long Course Worlds Gold In 50 Back

2025 World Championships

• July 27 – August 3, 2025 (pool swimming)
• Singapore, Singapore
• World Aquatics Championships Arena
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Live Results
• SwimSwam Preview Index

MEN’S 50 BACKSTROKE — BY THE NUMBERS:

• World Record: 23.55 – Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS), 2023 Russian Cup
• World Junior Record: 24.00 – Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS), 2018 European Championships
• World Championship Record: 24.04 – Liam Tancock (GBR), 2009
• 2023 World Champion: Hunter Armstrong (USA), 24.05

The men’s 50 backstroke is one of the final installments in SwimSwam’s event-by-event preview of the 2025 World Championships in Singapore. The field is shaping up to be the fastest in history, with the world’s fastest man in the event chasing his first-ever long course world title.

The Russian Duo With Sub-24 Capabilities

Kliment Kolesnikov (Photo Credit: Roldy Cueto Cabrera)

The clear favorite on paper is Russian Olympic medalist Kliment Kolesnikov. The 25-year-old will compete for the first time at a major international meet since the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where he earned silver in the 100 back and bronze in the 100 freestyle. He will swim under the ‘Neutral Athletes B’ banner in Singapore due to his nation’s ongoing conflict with Ukraine.

Kolesnikov holds the world record in the 50 back, having touched in 23.55 at the 2023 Russian Cup. That swim sliced 0.16 off the previous mark of 23.71 set by American Hunter Armstrong in 2022. Kolesnikov’s previous best of 23.80 from the 2021 European Championships had held the world record before Armstrong broke it. In fact, he became the first man to crack 24 seconds with his 23.93 in the 2021 European Championship semifinals.

Kolesnikov, Armstrong, and American Justin Ress are the only swimmers to have cracked the 24-second barrier. Only Kolesnikov will be in Singapore.

With his current world-leading time of 23.90 from the Russian World Championship Trials in May, Kolesnikov sits atop the world rankings.

Speaking of the Russian Trials, that race was one of the fastest in history, second only to the 2022 U.S. International Team Trials that saw three swimmers hit 24.00 or better. In Kazan, Pavel Samusenko touched second behind Kolesnikov in a sizzling 24.01 to rank second worldwide this season, with the pair holding over a two-tenth cushion over third-ranked Shaine Casas.

Samusenko, 23, has not had major opportunities to race on the long course international scene in the past six years. His last appearance was at 17 during the 2019 World Junior Championships, where he earned three silver medals in relay events. However, he did compete at the 2021 Short Course Worlds—the last meet most Russian swimmers attended before the invasion of Ukraine—as well as the recent 2024 Short Course Championships under the neutral flag. He won five relay medals combined from those meets, all gold in 2024 with one gold and one bronze in 2021. In 2024, he placed sixth in the 50 back (22.74) and fourth in the 100 back (49.20), missing the podium by just 0.04 seconds in the latter.

In that 100 final, Samusenko undercut his personal best of 49.23 from 2023. He also posted 22.72 in the 50 back semifinals before nearly replicating it in the final. This shows that despite limited world-stage experience individually, he can deliver best times when it matters. With his current best sitting at 24.01, a sub-24 performance and podium finish seems like it could be on the horizon.

As a refresher, Kolesnikov did not swim at those 2024 Short Course Worlds. Russia sent 28 swimmers to compete in Budapest, but Kolesnikov was not among them, saying he felt uncomfortable competing as a neutral athlete. In a recent interview with Metaratings.ru, a Russian sports publication, Kolesnikov explained how his views have evolved based on feedback from teammates who competed in Budapest.

“Before our swimmers competed at the World Championships in Budapest, my position on the neutral status was neutral,” Kolesnikov said. “I expressed dissatisfaction with the existing set of rules for participation in competitions. But when the guys returned from the World Championships, I heard from them more than once that it would be very good if the whole team, including me, participated in the competitions.

“After that, I started thinking that it wouldn’t be very good for me to sit here while the entire team competes in Singapore and wins medals. I could also contribute to this.”

Three Years Ago: Junior Stars All Grown Up

Ksawery Masiuk (Photo Credit: European Aquatics)

Many swim fans remember the battles between Ksawery Masiuk (Poland) and Pieter Coetze (South Africa) at the 2022 World Junior Championships. They went head-to-head in the sprint events, with Masiuk out-touching Coetze in both the 50 and 100, while Coetze dominated the 200 to close the meet.

Both swimmers have improved steadily since that meet, with Coetze showing tangible progress in 2025. He recently logged 51.99 to top the world standings in the 100 back at the World University Games, and produced an equal career-best 24.49 at the same meet to rank 10th globally. The 50 is Coetze’s weakest event among the three backstrokes, while Masiuk excels equally in both the 50 and 100.

Masiuk has been 24.46 this season, ranking eighth in the world. He holds the Polish record at 24.44, first set at the 2022 World Juniors and matched at the 2024 Doha Worlds, where he earned bronze. He also posted a 52.55 national record in the 100 back in March, signaling that he is in peak form.

Masiuk’s results at senior international meets have been mixed. He placed fourth in the 50 back at the 2023 Worlds with a 24.57, then underperformed in Paris, finishing 13th in the 100 and 17th in the 200. Still, his best times consistently put him in medal contention. If he can recapture the form he showed at the 2022 World Juniors or in Doha, the Texas commit will be tough to keep off the podium.

Coetze, on the other hand, has shown a growing ability to deliver when it matters most over the past year. He delivered PBs in both the 100 back (6th) and 200 back (7th) finals in Paris and claimed bronze in the 200 back at 2024 Worlds from lane eight. While the 50 back is his weakest, he’s proven he can’t be underestimated under pressure.

European Veterans Chase New Heights

Hubert Kos (Photo Credit: Gian Mattia D’Alberto)

Several seasoned European backstrokers are expected to be a factor, with Hubert Kos showing perhaps the most dramatic improvement this season. The Hungarian’s transition from 200 IM specialist to backstroke ace two years ago has paid dividends across all three distances. At December’s Short Course Worlds in Budapest, he claimed his first Worlds medal in a sprint event (silver in the 100 back), nearly broke the 200 back world record, and posted a national record (22.64) in the 50 back for 4th place.

That short course breakthrough translated beautifully to long course meters. At Hungarian Nationals in April, the University of Texas star fired off a new national record of 24.63 in the 50 back prelims, before lowering it to 24.62 in the final. His time shattered Richard Bohus’s longstanding Hungarian benchmark of 24.76 from the 2018 Gyor Open, and represented a massive .22-second drop from his previous best of 24.85 set at last year’s European Championships.

The sprint gains mirror his 100 back development. That same April meet saw him clock 52.24, half a second faster than his Olympic time and the world’s fastest at that point. The Bob Bowman-trained swimmer’s versatility could prove problematic though, holding top-six world rankings in four events this year may leave him less fresh than more specialized competitors. This event would be his last individual event of the meet, assuming he contests each of his other five individual events, which seems unlikely.

Thomas Ceccon (Photo Credit: Andrea Staccioli)

Italy’s Thomas Ceccon presents the field’s biggest wildcard. The reigning Olympic champion and world record holder in the 100 backstroke has never made a statement in this race, seeming to prefer the rhythm of longer backstroke events. His 2023 World title in the 50 butterfly shows he can excel in sprint events when focused, and he’s flirted with the podium in the 50 backstroke before. He touched fourth at the 2022 Worlds in 24.51, just 0.02 seconds shy of bronze, and fifth in 2023 in 24.57, missing the podium by 0.07 seconds.

24-year-old Ceccon hasn’t raced the 50 back this season, likely focusing on the 100 back, but his 24.40 best from the 2022 European Championships should earn a final spot, if he can replicate it.

Apostolos Christou built his name as a backstroke sprinter before shocking everyone with Olympic silver in the 200. While his Greek teammate, 19-year-old Apostolos Siskos, has stolen the show in the 200m distance over the last few months, Christou hasn’t lost any ground, particularly in the sprints.

Like Ceccon, Christou hasn’t quite translated his exceptional 100 backstroke speed into the 50 yet, but he’s been a consistent fringe finalist. He touched fifth in 2022 in 24.57, just 0.08 off the podium and right behind Ceccon, then followed with sixth in 2023 in 24.60, again on Ceccon’s heels and 0.10 from the podium. His 24.75 this season sits 18th worldwide, though his 52.51 in the 100 backstroke looks more promising for medal contention. If the 28-year-old can get close to his Greek record of 24.36 from the 2022 European Championships, he’ll comfortably make the final.

Oliver Morgan of Team GB brings consistency to a field full of variables. The Birmingham swimmer has steadily improved across all backstroke distances under Gary Humpage’s guidance, with the 100 representing his best event, as he progressed from ninth at 2023 Worlds to eighth in Paris. Morgan’s April personal best of 24.43 in the 50 ranks seventh worldwide.

IM Veteran Meets College Breakout

Shaine Casas (Photo Credit: Jack Spitser)

The two Americans in the field will be Shaine Casas and Quintin McCarty, both ranked in the top ten worldwide this season. Casas comes in with the faster lifetime best, courtesy of the 24.00 he popped at the 2022 U.S. International Team Trials, though he has never raced this event on the international long course stage.

Best known for his 200 IM prowess, an event he won at Short Course Worlds last December and has contested at the past two long course Worlds plus the Paris Olympics, Casas owns a season-best 24.23 from the Westmont Pro Swim Series. That time ranks him third in this season’s world standings.

He was upended by Quintin McCarty at U.S. Nationals last month, with McCarty taking the win in 24.34 to Casas’ 24.44. McCarty has been on an absolute tear over the past few months, only breaking 25 seconds for the first time at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Series in April. There he logged 24.95 in prelims before hitting 24.45 for second in the final, just 0.04 seconds behind Casas’ 24.41 winning time.

The question for McCarty, a redshirt sophomore at NC State, is whether he can continue his rapid progression. He started the season with a career best of 25.42, though he didn’t focus on this event last year since it wasn’t an Olympic event at the time.

When swimmers have these massive time drops, they typically fall into two categories: they either keep the momentum rolling and match or slightly improve at the next taper meet, or they struggle to replicate the big drop right away. Given that McCarty went 24.4 in April and 24.3 in June, and is known to swim fairly fast outside of taper meets, he’ll more likely than not be close to his best time.

The biggest X-factor for both Americans? The wave of illness that recently hit the U.S. team. If either athlete was affected, performance could be impacted.

Additional Contenders

SwimSwam’s Picks

Dark Horse: Ulises Saravia (Argentina) — Ulises Saravia enters these World Championships riding a wave of momentum. The 19-year-old Argentine is in the best form of his career, having broken national records in both the 50 and 100 back at the Spanish Summer Championships last month. His 24.66 in the 50 back marked a significant improvement from his previous best of 24.95, which he set as a 17-year-old en route to a bronze medal at the 2023 World Junior Championships.

Saravia first turned heads at those Junior Worlds, where he broke Federico Grabich’s longstanding national record in the 50 back and finished on the podium despite limited international experience. He followed that up with a 15th-place finish at the 2024 Worlds (25.13).

Still developing and already among Argentina’s best-ever swimmers, Saravia may not be on everyone’s radar—but he very well might be after Singapore.