Kolesnikov Wins First LC World Title With Championship Record Of 23.68 In 50 Back

2025 World Championships

• July 27 – August 3, 2025 (pool swimming)
• Singapore, Singapore
• World Aquatics Championships Arena
• LCM (50m)
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  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8

Kliment Kolesnikov won his first long course World title at the third attempt, blasting away from the field through the second half of the race tonight to touch in the joint-second-fastest swim of all time.

He had been the class of the field in both heats and semi-finals, posting times of 24.08 and 24.26 to take the top seed in both, and dropped below 24 seconds for the 8th time to take the win tonight.

There have now been 10 swims below the 24-second barrier, with eight of them owned by the NAB athlete. The only swims to come from a different swimmer are from a pair of Americans and came in the same heat – the 2022 U.S. Nationals final in 2022. Shaine Casas, owner of the 11th-fastest performance in history with a time of 24.00, was also in that final, but missed the semis here after going 24.97.

Top 10 All-Time Performances, Men’s 50 Backstroke

1. Kliment Kolesnikov, NAB (2023) – 23.55
2. Kliment Kolesnikov, NAB (2023) & (2025) – 23.68
3. –
4. Hunter Armstrong, USA (2022) – 23.71
5. Kliment Kolesnikov, NAB (2021) – 23.80
6. Kliment Kolesnikov, NAB (2024) & (2025)- 23.90
7. –
8. Justin Ress, USA (2022) – 23.92
9. Kliment Kolesnikov, NAB (2021) – 23.93
10. Kliment Kolesnikov, NAB (2024) – 23.96

Kolesnikov was just 0.13 seconds off his world record from 2023, but sliced two tenths off the 23.90 he went at the Russian national Championships in Kazan back in April. He added slightly in the 100 backstroke to miss the medals after coming in as one of the favorites, but backed up his favorite status here.

Kolesnikov’s teammate Pavel Samusenko could not quite match the 24.01 he swam at those same Russian Championships earlier this year which made him the #5 performer in the event, but took silver in a time 0f 24.17, his fastest of the three rounds. he hit the wall at the same time as South African Pieter Coetze, who cemented his status as the best three-distance backstroker in the world with a silver medal and African Record here.

The three medalists here are the top three performers this season now

This podium may give Kolesnikov a sense of deja vu from the last 50 back podium he stood on, with a teammate (Evgeny Rylov) and a South African (Zane Waddell) joining him in the top three