2020 RUSSIAN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Sunday, October 25th – Friday, October 30th
• Aquatics Palace, Kazan, Russia
• LCM (50m)
• Olympic-qualifying competition
• SwimSwam Preview
• Day 1 Recap
• Entries/Results

While competing on day 2 of the 2020 Russian Swimming Championships, 23-year-old Anton Chupkov busted out the fastest 100m breaststroke swim of his life en route to gold.

Hitting a time of 58.83, Chupkov not only claimed the national title in a result that easily clears the Olympic FINA ‘A’ cut of 59.93, but his time also overtakes his own Russian standard of 58.94. He produced that previous sub-59 second outing at the FINA World Cup stop in Kazan.

Splits for Chupkov’s former national record included 28.17/30.77 (58.94), while tonight’s effort checked in with a 27.97 opener and a final 50m of 30.86 to produce his best time ever.

Runners-up in the race at Russian Nationals tonight included Ilya Khomenko and Alexander Palatov who clocked times of 59.84 and 59.89 for respective silver and bronze. Khomenko’s time dips under the aforementioned Olympic qualifying threshold.

Chupkov’s performance tonight lays waste to the 59.19 the Russian produced in Gwangju last year to place 8th at the FINA World Championships. That’s the same meet at which he struck a new World Record in the 200m breast (2:06.12) for gold.

Chupkov’s 58.83 here in Kazan now ranks Chupkov as the world’s 15th fastest LCM 100 breaststroke performer all-time.