Kolesnikov Puts Up World-Leading 49.22 SCM 100 Back Semi-Final In Russia

2023 RUSSIAN SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• November 20th – November 25th
• St. Petersburg, Russia
• SCM (25m)
• SwimSwam Preview
• Results

The 2023 Russian Short Course Championships brought some of the nation’s biggest swimming stars to St. Petersburg for day one of the six-day competition, already with a record biting the dust.

We reported how 20-year-old Ilya Borodin crushed a lifetime best of 1:53.09 to top the men’s 200m IM podium ahead of Maxim Stupin and Alexey Sudarev. Stupin hit 1:53.72 as the silver medalist while Sudarev rounded out the top 3 in 1:54.99.

Borodin’s time overtook the previous Russian standard of 1:53.26 Daniil Pasynkov put on the books in 2019.

• Ilya Borodin Takes Down Russian Record in SCM 200 IM

Making her post-Tokyo Olympic Games debut, 31-year-old Yuliya Efimova is in the hunt in the women’s 50m breaststroke.

She notched a semi-final time of 29.86 to tie Evgenia Chikunova as the 2nd seed, with both speedsters sitting behind top-seeded Alina Zmushka.

After producing 29.99 in the heats, Zmushka carried her momentum into the 2nd round to hold steady in lane 4 with a time of 29.80.

Zmushka is seeking her 2nd consecutive 50m breast national title after having topped the podium last year in a time of 29.49.

Another tight battle in the middle of unfolding is the men’s 100m back, where Kliment Kolesnikov, Pavel Samusenko and Evgeny Rylov are among the would-be champions.

Rylov led the heats with a morning swim of 50.81 before Kolesnikov took over after the semi-finals with an evening mark of 49.22.

Miron Lifintsev is ranked 2nd in 50.11 for tomorrow night’s final, while Samusenko is positioned 3rd in 50.37 and Rylov is next in 50.57.

Kolsenikov is the top Russian performer in history in this event, holding a PB of 48.58 from this time 3 years ago. With the final race yet to come, K2 already ranks #1 in the world, dethroning Frenchman Mewen Tomac who previously wore the crown in 49.99.

Belarusian Ilya Shymanovich led the way through the men’s 100m breaststroke semi-finals, landing lane 4 in a time of 57.26.

However, his outing sits just .01 ahead of a hungry Danil Semyaninov who notched 57.27 while Kirill Prigoda will also flank Shymanovich in tomorrow night’s final, courtesy of his 57.65 semi-final swim.

The trio now inserts itself into the list of this season’s top performers worldwide in slots #3, #4 and #6, respectively.

Additional Notes

• The women’s 400m IM saw Irina Krivonogova log a time of 4:35.82 to wind up on top with gold in the only final time under 4:40.
• Maria Kameneva produced a semi-final time of 57.30 to lead the women’s 100m back field by over a second. That ranks her #4 in the world this season.
• Anna Egorova was tonight’s winner in the women’s 200m freestyle with the 25-year-old posting a gold medal-worthy 1:55.22 for the 3rd-quickest outing of her career. She now ranks 5th in the world on the season.
• Getting to the wall first in the men’s 400m free was Martin Malyutin. He clocked 3:41.45 for gold, just getting the edge over Saveliy Luzin who settled for silver in 3:41.49. Vladislav Reznichenko also landed on the podium in 3:42.67 for bronze.
• Alexander Kharlanov made it happen in the men’s 200m fly, grabbing the gold in 1:51.14. He beat the field by nearly a second as Egor Pavlov scored silver in 1:52.04 and Herman Zazhirsky produced 1:54.78 for bronze. Kharlanov is now the worldwide leader for the season, overtaking previous rankings topper Alberto Razzetti of Italy.