Kolesnikov, Kornev Highlight First Three Days of Russian Swimming Championships

2026 RUSSIAN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• June 6-11, 2026
• Kazan, Russia
• LCM (50 meters)
• Meet Central
• Live Results

One national record and a number of noteworthy performances have gone down through the first three nights of action from the 2026 Russian Swimming Championships, with the competition in Kazan having gotten underway on Saturday and running through Thursday.

On Monday, Egor Kornev fired off a new Russian Record in the semi-finals of the men’s 50 free, clocking 21.12 to obliterate Vladimir Morozov‘s mark of 21.27 set in 2019. Kornev, whose previous PB stood at 21.43, moves up to become the sixth-fastest performer of all-time.

• Read more on Kornev’s record here.

On Sunday, a pair of standout performances came in the 50 backstroke finals.

In the women’s event, Alina Gaifutdinova, who tied the Russian Record in April in a time of 27.23, clocked 27.33 to secure the victory with no one else in the field under 28 seconds.

Kliment Kolesnikov followed up by firing off the 10th sub-24 swim of his career in the men’s 50 back, putting up a time of 23.86, taking over the top spot in the world rankings this season. Kolesnikov owns the world record at 23.55, set in 2023, and has broken 24 seconds at least once in every year since 2021, inlcuding winning the world title last summer in 23.68.

Pavel Samusenko was the runner-up in 24.12, just shy of his 24.01 best time, to rank #2 in the world, while Miron Lifintsev rounded out the podium in 24.43.

OTHER FINALS

• On the opening night, Irina Zvyagintseva won the first final of the meet in the women’s 400 IM, defending her title from last year in 4:42.33 to slice a bit of time off her previous best of 4:42.52 set in 2025.
• Highlights from the 4×100 free relays included a 53.96 lead-off from Alexandra Kuznetsova in the women’s race and a number of 47-point performances on the men’s side, including Egor Kornev clocking 47.40 to narrowly miss his lifetime best of 47.29 from 2025, and Kliment Kolesnikov leading off in a notable 47.95. Andrei Minakov showed signs of good form with a 47.53 split as well.
• Seventeen-year-old Milana Stepanova opened the second night of finals in impressive fashion, winning the women’s 200 freestyle in 1:58.36, edging out Daria Surushkina (1:58.78). Stepanova set her lifetime best of 1:58.09 in April.
• Ivan Girev emerged in a tightly contested final of the men’s 200 free, holding off Roman Akimov down the stretch to touch in 1:46.41, with Akimov just four one-hundredths back in 1:46.45 and Nikolai Kolesnikov close behind in 1:46.67. Last year, Girev and Akimov tied for 2nd and Kolesnikov was 4th in the 200 free final at Nationals, with Mikhail Dovgalyuk collecting the win. Dovgalyuk was 6th on Sunday in a time of 1:47.27.
• Ralina Giliazova won the women’s 50 breaststroke final in a big personal best time of 30.34, taking 55 one-hundredths off her previous PB of 30.89 set at last year’s World Junior Championships where she won the bronze medal. The 18-year-old topped veteran Yuliya Efimova, who was the runner-up in 30.55, her fastest swim since 2021.
• Kirill Prigoda won a nail-biter in the men’s 50 breast, registering a time of 26.85 to out-touch Ivan Kozhakin (26.86) and Danil Semyaninov (27.05). Prigoda, who set his lifetime best of 26.62 at last year’s World Championships, moves to 13th in the world this season, while Kozhakin ranks 7th after going 26.69 on the Mare Nostrum Tour.
• In the men’s 200 fly, Herman Zazhirsky rolled to a decisive win in a time of 1:56.42, knocking nearly two seconds off his previous best set last year (1:58.39).
• The teenagers stole the show in the women’s 1500 freestyle, as 17-year-old Ksenia Misharina stopped the clock first in a time of 16:11.80, while 18-year-old Anna Arshavskaya was the runner-up in 16:19.82. Misharina set her personal best time of 16:03.42 earlier this year, ranking her 10th in the world this season, while Arkshavskaya set a big PB, going sub-16:20 for the first time with her previous mark standing at 16:23.96.
• Ilia Borodin neared his personal best en route to winning the men’s 200 IM final, clocking 1:57.24 to move into 10th in the world this season. The 23-year-old set his lifetime best and Russian Record of 1:56.75 in July 2024.
• Sprint specialist Arina Surkova blasted her way to a time of 24.66 in the final of the women’s 50 free, out-touching 50 back champion Alina Gaifutdinova (24.68) by two one-hundredths. Surkova has been as fast as 24.34, done in 2024, while Gaifutdinova set another best time, having lowered her PB of 24.92 down to 24.77 in the semis.
• 2025 World Championship finalist Daria Klepikova comfortably won the women’s 100 fly in a time of 57.20, improving on her season-best of 57.42 to move into 9th in the 2025-26 world rankings. The 21-year-old set the Russian Record of 56.42 during the semi-finals at last year’s World Championships. Alexandra Kuznetsova was the runner-up in a new personal best of 58.02. Klepikova also had the top split in the women’s 4×200 free relay at 1:57.07, well under her flat start best of 1:58.05 and her fastest-ever relay split of 1:57.58.
• Kirill Martynychev grabbed the early lead and cruised to victory in the men’s 1500 free final, touching in 15:00.16 to top runner-up Andrey Filipets (15:07.84) by over seven and a half seconds.

TOP SEEDS FROM DAY 3 SEMIS

• Women’s 200 Backstroke – Sofia Molchanova, 2:11.58
• Women’s 200 Breaststroke – Evgeniia Chikunova, 2:23.45
• Men’s 200 Breaststroke – Daniil Pisetsky, 2:10.05
• Men’s 200 Backstroke – Dmitry Savenko, 1:56.41
• Men’s 50 Freestyle – Egor Kornev, 21.12 *Read more here*
• Men’s 100 Butterfly – Mikhail Vekovishchev, 51.58