Race Video: Men’s 200 Back Final in Budapest with Rylov-Murphy-Pebley

2017 FINA WORLD SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Sunday, July 23rd – Sunday, July 30th
• Budapest, Hungary
• LCM (50m)
• Full Competition Schedule
• Meet Info
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• Pick ’em Contest
• Event-by-Event Previews

In the final of the men’s 200m backstroke on Friday, Russia’s Evgeny Rylov blasted off the start and jumped out to an early lead over the field. Rylov was 26.37 at the 50 wall, over 3/10 faster than China’s Xu Jiayu and 6/10 faster than his Russian teammate Kliment Kolesnikov, who were sitting in second and third. Rylov’s second 50 was even more dominant, and he led by 2 seconds at the 100 wall. Murphy came home in a pair of 29.0s but it wasn’t enough to erase Rylov’s huge lead, and Murphy finished second, 6/10 back. Rylov’s 1:53.61 broke the European Record, in addition to earning him the gold medal. Jacob Pebley‘s third 50 moved him past Kolesnikov, whom he was able to hold off over the final 50 meters to claim bronze for Team USA.

Watch the race, courtesy of NBC Sports, below:

Write-up from Lauren Neidigh:

MEN’S 200 BACK – FINAL

• World Record: Aaron Peirsol, 1:51.92, 2009
• Championship Record: Aaron Peirsol, 1:51.92, 2009
• Junior World Record: Kliment Kolesnikov, 1:55.15, 2017

1. GOLD: Evgeny Rylov, RUS, 1:53.61
2. SILVER: Ryan Murphy, USA, 1:54.21
3. BRONZE: Jacob Pebley, USA, 1:55.06

Evgeny Rylov looked like he was shot out of a rocket this evening.  He turned first at the 50, with Xu Jiayu just behind him, but Rylov really separated from the field at the 100, turning at 54.50 and having well over a second between him and the rest of the field.  The pace didn’t look sustainable, and Ryan Murphy began to close on Rylov the final 50. But the American ran out of room, and Rylov hung on to win in 1:53.61, shaving two-tenths off the fastest time in the world this year. Murphy took 2nd in 1:54.21, with teammate Jacob Pebley surging in grab 3rd in 1:55.06.

Another Russian, Kliment Kolesnikov, picked up 4th with a new junior world world record (1:55.14), while Xu ended up 5th in 1:55.26. Peter Bernek, Ryosuke Irie, and Danas Rapsys placed 6th-8th.