2025 RUSSIAN SHORT COURSE NATIONALS
- Friday, November 7th – Wednesday, November 12th
- Kazan, Russia
- SCM (25m)
- Day 1 Recap
- Live Results
We already saw a European Junior Record go down at these 2025 Russian Short Course Nationals but day three brought us our first World Junior Record of the competition.
Racing in the final of the men’s 400m freestyle, 17-year-old Grigorii Vekovischev blasted a new lifetime best and WJR of 3:36.57 en route to topping the podium.
He defeated the domestic field handily this evening, with Saveliy Luzin settling for silver over two seconds back in 3:39.00 followed by Nikolay Kolesnikov who rounded out the podium in 3:39.47.
As for Vekovischev, his effort knocked well over a second off the former World Junior Record of 3:37.92 South African Matt Sates put on the book during the 2021 World Cup.
Comparing the splits, Vekovischev was ahead of Sates on every 50m save for the opening two lengths which saw Sates post 25.03 to the Russian’s 25.24.
| Vekovischev’s New WJR – 3:36.57 | Sates’ Old WJR – 3:37.92 |
| 25.24 | 25.03 |
| 27.24 (52.48) | 27.53 (52.56) |
| 27.54 (1:20.02) | 28.16 (1:20.72) |
| 27.80 (1:47.82) | 28.46 (1:49.18) |
| 27.19 (2:15.01) | 27.79 (2:16.97) |
| 27.75 (2:42.76) | 27.75 (2:44.72) |
| 27.26 (3:10.02) | 26.84 (3:11.56) |
| 26.55 (3:36.57) | 26.36 (3:37.92) |
Entering this competition, Vekovischev’s lifetime best rested at the 3:45.95 established last year, so the teen hacked that PB to bits en route to becoming the 25th-best performer in history.
Specific to his home nation of Russia, he now becomes the 3rd-quickest male of all time.
Top 5 Russian Men’s SCM 400 Free Performers All-Time
- Aleksandr Krasnykh – 3:35.30, 2016
- Nikita Lobintsev – 3:35.75, 2009
- Girgory Vekovischev – 3:36.57, 2025
- Yuriy Prilukov – 3:37.35, 2008
- Martin Malyutin – 3:37.75, 2018
He now ranks 4th in the world on the season.
2025-2026 SCM Men 400 FREE
Melbourne-Smith
3:36.09
| 2 | Samuel Short | AUS | 3:36.12 | 10/01 |
| 3 | Jack MCMILLAN | GBR | 3:36.33 | 12/02 |
| 4 | Lukas Märtens | GER | 3:36.51 | 12/02 |
| 5 | Carson FOSTER | USA | 3:36.52 | 10/23 |
Vekovischev was a triple medalist at this year’s World Junior Championships:
- Gold, Boys’ 400m free – 3:46.64
- Bronze, Boys’ 800m free – 7:50.04
- Gold, Boys’ 4x200m free relay – 7:10.39
wouldn’t he rank 3rd in the world