Ilya Borodin Blasts 4:08.05 400 IM For New Russian National Record

2022 RUSSIAN SOLIDARITY GAMES

• Thursday, July 21st – Monday, July 25th
• Kazan, Russia
• LCM (50m)
• Day 1 Recap/Day 2 Recap/Day 3 Recap/Day 4 Recap
• Live Results
• Livestream

The 2022 Russian Solidarity Games concluded tonight in Kazan, with Ilya Borodin ripping a new lifetime best and Russian national record in the men’s 400m IM.

As a reminder, the swimming here is part of a multi-sport event being hosted by Russia after most of their sporting federations were barred from international competition following the country’s invasion of Ukraine in February. The ensuing war has resulted in at least 5,110 civilian deaths according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and has displaced millions of people.

Russia’s banishment from many international sporting events include the recent FINA World Championships, which came after swimmer Evgeny Rylov appeared at a pro-war propaganda event.

The swimming competition features primarily athletes from Russia and Belarus, which was also banned from the World Championships for its part in the invasion,  though a handful of other countries have also sent athletes (including Syria, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Armenia, South Africa, Tajikistan, and Sudan).

19-year-old Borodin proved to be the highlight of the evening, taking the men’s 400m IM event in a monster effort of 4:08.05. That represented a new lifetime best, overtaking the World Junior Record holder’s previous PB of 4:09.86 clocked at this past April’s Russian Championships.

Borodin’s previous outing also represented the Russian national record, so his 4:08.05 also now checks in as the new Russian standard in the event. The teen now inserts himself into the list of all-time 400m IM performers at #11, though he is the 4th fastest European of all time now in the event.

This season, Borodin ranks 4th and his time here in Kazan would have rendered the Russian the 4th place finisher.

Splits for Borodin’s gold medal-garnering time here tonight are as follows:

Additional Winners

• Daniil Markov was the top 50m freestyler for the men, hitting 2201 to beat out Kliment Kolesnikov‘s runner-up result of 22.06. At the end of the meet, Kolesnikov also led off his Moscow squad’s medley relay with a solid 52.82 backstroke split.
• The women’s 400m IM saw Anna Chernysheva post 4:46.40 for the win, while the women’s 800m free title was claimed by Yana Kurtseva in 8:44.10.
• Arina Surkova ended her meet with a win in the 50m fly, clocking the only sub-26 second time of the field in 25.89.
• Belarusian ace Ilya Shymanovich led a slew of sub-1:00 breaststroke in the 100m sprint, with the national record holder earning the gold in 58.97.