Canadian Olympian Ruslan Gaziev Using 5th Year of NCAA Eligibility at Ohio State

Canadian Olympian Ruslan Gaziev is returning to Ohio State for his COVID-19 fifth year of eligibility next season, giving the Buckeye men a huge boost amid a wave of key departures.

Update: Gaziev clarified that he’s not yet sure whether he’s going to compete during the fall semester.

Gaziev was Ohio State’s top scorer in the pool at the 2023 NCAA Championships with 20.5 individual points while also swimming on all four of the Buckeyes’ qualifying relays (200 free relay, 400 free relay, 200 medley relay, and 400 medley relay). He was their best sprint freestyler, winning the Big Ten title in the 100 free with a meet record of 41.38 before blazing a personal-best 40.98 at NCAAs on his way to to 4th place in Minneapolis.

Gaziev added 14th-place efforts at NCAAs in both the 50 free (19.10 in the final, 19.00 in prelims) and 200 free (1:32.85). It might be easier to break into the A-final in those events next year without Brooks Curry, Van Mathias, Nyls Korstanje, Grant House, and Jack Dahlgren in the mix.

Gaziev made massive improvements during the 2022-23 season, dropping more than half a second in the 100 free off his 41.56 that placed him 10th at NCAAs in 2022. He also shaved .34 seconds off his lifetime best in the 50 free from 2019 and a few tenths off his best 200 free time from last year’s Big Tens (1:31.94).

Over the past couple seasons, Gaziev has become an important part of Canada’s relays on the major international stage. The 24-year-old Toronto resident took bronze in the men’s 400 free relay at last year’s Commonwealth Games, marking Canada’s first men’s relay medal at a major event in seven years. At this year’s World Championships, he nearly secured a spot on the podium as a member of Canada’s mixed 400 free relay team that placed 4th. He also swam on the Canadian men’s 400 free relay (5th place), mixed 400 medley relay (6th), men’s 400 medley relay (7th) and men’s 800 free relay (12th).

With Gaziev returning, the Buckeyes have all five of their individual NCAA scorers from last season back again. Their top scorer, reigning 1-meter diving national champion Lyle Yost (46.5 points), is also taking his fifth year at Ohio State. Rising senior Charlie Clark will take an Olympic redshirt in the fall, but 15th-year head coach Bill Dorenkott expects his distance star to be back in the spring for championship season, when he’ll be seeking his fourth consecutive NCAA A-final in the 1650 free.

But the team will be without a few critical pieces next season as Alex Quach (the backstroker on both medley relays at NCAAs) is preparing for the Paris 2024 Olympics in Australia, fellow Aussie James Ward (swam on both freestyle and medley relays at NCAAs) had two appeals for eligibility relief denied by the NCAA, and Thomas Watkins (46.01 100 back) opted to move home to New Zealand instead of use his fifth year in Columbus. With German backstroke specialist Cornelius Jahn deferring enrollment until the 2024-25 season to chase a spot at the Paris 2024 Olympics, the Buckeyes have gaps that need filling, but the return of Gaziev represents a strong foundation to build upon this season.