Lifintsev Posts 52.23 100 Back; Prigoda Blasts 57.89 100 Breast Split On Day 6 Of Russian Nats

2025 RUSSIAN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• April 13-18, 2025
• Kazan, Russia
• LCM (50 meters)
• Meet Central
• Live Results
• Livestream

The 2025 Russian Swimming Championships have officially come to a close. The final night of swimming in Kazan was filled with nine individual finals: the women’s 200 breaststroke, men’s 100 freestyle, women’s 100 butterfly, men’s 50 breaststroke, men’s 200 backstroke, women’s 50 freestyle, men’s 200 butterfly, women’s 200 freestyle, and men’s 1500 freestyle.

This meet serves as the sole selection opportunity for the Russian team for the World Championships in Singapore this July. Swimmers must place 1st or 2nd in the ‘A’ final and achieve a qualifying time to be considered for selection.

The team will then be formed based on the head coach’s recommendation, taking into account the athletes’ performances. The final decision will be made by the Presidium of the Russian Federation of Aquatic Sports.

Evgeniia Chikunova completed her sweep of the breast events with a win in the 200, posting a new world-leading time of 2:20.36. The world record holder recorded splits of 32.89 and 36.02 to hit the 100 at 1:08.91, before continuing to power through the final two 50 segments with splits of 35.84 and 35.61. The 20-year-old’s world record remains the 2:17.55 she set at this same meet two years ago. Earlier this week, she won both the 50 (30.72) and 100 (1:06.13) in season-best times.

Notably, Yulia Efimova took it too easy in the morning session, missing the ‘A’ final in 9th place with a time of 2:32.51. Earlier this week, Efimova narrowly missed qualifying times for Singapore in both the 50 and 100, finishing as the runner-up in both events.

After setting a new Russian record in the 50 breast (26.46) in yesterday’s semifinals, 28-year-old Ivan Kozhakin couldn’t quite recreate the magic in tonight’s final. Instead, veteran Kirill Prigoda stole the show with a 26.70, edging out Kozhakin, who settled for silver in 26.84.

Kozhakin’s 26.46 remains the fastest time in the world so far this season, while Prigoda moves up to 4th in the rankings with his 26.70.

23-year-old defending champion Dmitry Savenko dominated the men’s 200 back final, touching in 1:55.91 to finish well clear of the field. He was just off his 1:55.60 best time. Alexey Tkachev (1:58.16) and Artem Norkin (1:58.64) rounded out the podium, with Tkachev narrowly missing the 1:58.04 Russian Worlds cut. 2020 Olympic champion and European record holder Evgeny Rylov finished off the podium in 1:58.68.

In the men’s 100 free final, 21-year-old Egor Kornev dominated the race, touching 1st with a time of 47.55, the only swimmer under 48 seconds. He was faster in yesterday’s semifinals, clocking a new personal best of 47.42—the third-fastest time in the world this season—and becoming the second-fastest Russian of all time in the event. He also currently holds the world-leading time in the 50 free, having won that event on Wednesday with a time of 21.43.

Kornev’s splits tonight were nearly identical to those in the semifinals, just a few hundredths slower on both 50s. He opened in 22.66 and closed in 24.89, compared to 22.60 and 24.82 from yesterday.

Andrei Minakov took 2nd with a time of 48.16, 0.63 seconds behind Kornev. His splits were 23.48 for the first 50 and 24.68 for the second. Minakov, who broke the Russian national record in the fly on Monday, secured a spot on the team in this event for at the World Championships in Singapore by dipping under the Russian-mandated time of 48.18. He also holds a lifetime best of 47.57 from 2020, when he briefly held the world junior record.

In 3rd place was Vladislav Grinev, who clocked a time of 48.17, just 0.01 behind Minakov. He is the third-fastest Russian in history, with a personal best of 47.43 from 2019.

Russian record holder and current world leader in both the 50 and 100 back, Kliment Kolesnikov, finished 6th with a time of 48.50 (22.71/25.79). He faded significantly over the final 50, finishing well off his career-best of 47.11.

The 4×100 medley relays closed out the meet, with St. Petersburg sweeping both the men’s and women’s races.

In the men’s relay, the Saint Petersburg team touched in 3:28.49, setting a new national record. The previous mark (3:28.81) was established by the Russian foursome of Rylov, Prigoda, Minakov, and Vladimir Morozov at the 2019 World Championships, where they earned a bronze medal.

Tonight’s quartet featured Miron Lifintsev (52.23), Prigoda (57.89), Roman Shevlyakov (50.98), and Kornev (47.39). Lifintsev’s lead-off was slightly slower than his 52.15 from the individual 100 back earlier in the week, where he finished 2nd, just off his personal best of 52.08.

Prigoda’s split was particularly noteworthy, as he was over 1.5 seconds faster than his 59.40 in the individual 100 breast and well below his flat-start best of 58.92. If Prigoda can replicate this performance at Worlds—and with Minakov likely slotting into the fly leg and Kolesnikov on either back or free—Russia will be a serious contender for gold. China, the reigning Olympic champion, remains their toughest challenge.

Splits Comparison:

The women’s quartet of Milana Stepanova (1:00.72), Chikunova (1:05.87), Chimrova (58.31), and Alexandra Kuznetsova combined for a time of 3:58.94.

Other Highlights:

• No one qualified for the World Championships in the men’s 200 fly, but with the national title on the line, Alexander Kudashov took full advantage. He hit the wall 1st in 1:56.26, while Ivan Shamshurin from Belarus touched 2nd in 1:56.90.
• In the women’s 100 fly final, three swimmers finished under the 59-second mark, though none managed to hit the qualifying time of 57.97. Russian record holder Svetlana Chimrova won the race in 58.12, with 200 fly specialist Serafima Fokina taking 2nd in 58.55, and Polina Malakhova securing 3rd at 58.63.100 free winner Darya Klepikova scratched from the final after posting a time of 57.47 in yesterday’s semis.
• Klepikova won the 200 free in 1:58.05—well off the qualifying standard of 1:57.03, but a significant drop from her previous best of 2:01.93 heading into the meet.
• None of the swimmers were able to meet the qualifying mark of 14:57.50 in the men’s 1500 free. Alexander Stepanov claimed the national title with a steady and well-paced swim, clocking 15:05.69. He was followed closely by Andrey Filipets in 15:07.78 and Ivan Morgun in 15:09.11, rounding out the podium. All three swimmers maintained consistent 30-mid splits throughout.
• Two swimmers broke the 25-second threshold in the women’s 50 free but fell short of the 24.72 qualifying cut. Alexandra Kuznetsova collected gold with a time of 24.80, while veteran Arina Surkova settled for 2nd in 24.94.