2020 RUSSIAN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Sunday, October 25th – Friday, October 30th
• Aquatics Palace, Kazan, Russia
• LCM (50m)
• Olympic-qualifying competition
• SwimSwam Preview
• Day 1 Recap/Day 2 Recap/Day 3 Recap/Day 4 Recap
• Entries/Results

The 2020 Russian Swimming Championships conclude on Friday, October 30th and we’ve already seen some tremendous performances from both the men and women.

Evgenia Chikunova, just 15 years of age, downed the 50m breaststroke Russian Junior Record previously held by Olympic medalist Yuliya Efimova. Chikunova hit a time of 30.81 and followed up with a solid 1:06.63 to win the 100m breast a couple of nights later.

Of her racing here Kazan, the teen said, “It may seem that I win easily, but this is not so. I cannot say that my opponents are weak – Masha Temnikova breathed down my back. We are constantly working on the technique, constantly trying to improve something. From my unloved – exercises for development breathing, but we do them every day in training.

“I go to the gym every day except Wednesdays and Saturdays. Strength work I have two or three times a week,” Chikunova explained as she said she’s adding power to her breaststroke.

World Record holder Anton Chupkov clocked a new Russian national record of 58.83 in the 100m breast and followed up with a 2:07.32 head-turner in the 200m breast.

The 23-year-old said of his 200m breast, “I was very tired, just tired, psychologically and physically. This tiredness from so many years of training, accumulated. But such seconds make us go forward and improve them even more. So we will work.

“The result is decent, after all, a year without major starts. I think the coaches and management will be happy.”

Stanford-bound Andrei Minakov topped the men’s 100m fly and also set a new World Junior Record of 23.05 in the 50m fly semifinals. The 18-year-old said, “When we were in quarantine, there was no understanding at all at what speed I’ll get out by this time, let alone think about a record.

“I am satisfied that I managed to please the coaches and fans. I try to think positively: if there are no international competitions before the selection, then there will be good competition in Russia.”

Finally, Vladislav Grinev landed the top seed in the men’s 100m free semifinal, clocking a time of 48.33. Splitting 23.15/25.18, Grinev was the only sub-49 second swimmer heading into tomorrow night’s final. This performance was after a 4th place showing in the 50m free with a time of 22.52.

Grinev explained that, when the Russian Championships in the spring were cancelled due to coronavirus and swimmers were sent home, “I sat at home, began to eat a lot, and the weight went up.

Turning things around, Grinev said he then, “removed certain foods, the weight went down, but I lost even more than I planned – seven kilograms.”

He said his legs are ‘weak’ and did not have time to fully prepare. Additionally, Grinev points to his start as something to improve upon, which he intends on doing by ‘swimming everywhere’.