Strongest Athletes Swimming Cup
- November 20-23, 2025
- Minsk, Belarus
- Short Course Meters (25 meters)
- Live Results
The latter half of Belarus’ Strongest Athletes Swimming Cup saw backstrokers Anastasiya Shkurdai (Belarus) and Pavel Samusenko (Russia) put the rest of the European continent on notice.
Shkurdai, the 2024 Short Course Worlds bronze medalist in the women’s 200 back, put up a swift 2:02.05 in the same event today. Though it trails her 2:00.15 lifetime best, it’s still good enough for the top European time of the year by over a second and a half. Briton Freya Colbert comes in at #2 with a 2:03.64. The mark comes two weeks out from the Short Course European Championships in Lublin, Poland.
2025-2026 SCM Women 200 BACK
McKeown
WR 1:57.33
View Top 26»2 Regan
SmithUSA 1:57.86 AM 10/25 3 Phoebe
BaconUSA 2:00.80 10/25 4 Carmen
SASTREESP 2:01.66 12/03 5 Miranda
GRANAMEX 2:01.96 10/19
Shkurdai, 22, also leads the continent in the women’s 100 backstroke after putting up a 56.70 earlier in the meet.
With Russian athletes’ visa status to compete in Poland in the air, Russia sent many of its top athletes to this meet. This includes 24-year-old Pavel Samusenko, who threw down a 49.34 in the 100 backstroke, the #3 time in the world this year. He trails only world record holder Hubi Kos and country mate Kliment Kolesnikov.
2025-2026 SCM Men 100 BACK
Kos
WR 48.16
View Top 26»2 Pavel
SamusenkoRUS 48.78 12/19 3 Kliment
KolesnikovRUS 49.02 11/08 4 Thomas
Ceccon ITA 49.29 12/05 5 Kacper
Stokowski POL 49.41 10/25
Samusenko improved on his 49.56 season best from Russian nationals, and he came within reach of his 49.20 lifetime best from Budapest last year.
Other Strongest Athletes Cup Day 3 & 4 Notes
- Kirill Prigoda completed a sweep of the breaststroke events with a 25.73 50 and 2:01.90 in the 200, beating out regional rival Ilya Shimanovich in both. Prigoda had previously produced a 55.71 100 victory at the beginning of the meet.
- Belarus’ Ivan Shamshuryn sliced 1.4 seconds off of his 200 fly national record from 2022 en route to victory. He touched in 1:53.20, undercutting his old 1:54.64 benchmark
- 200 breaststroke world record holder Evgeniia Chikunova swam a 1:04.87 to win the 100 breast, well off her 1:03.73 lifetime best. With a rolling start, she split 1:04.14 on Russia’s 400 medley relay
- Kazakh freestyle star Galymzhan Balabek smashed his own national record in the 200 freestyle, bringing it from 1:46.76 to 1:45.68. He finished third, with winner Roman Akinov hitting first in 1:43.19.
