In the very first event of Saturday’s Short Course World Championship finals, the Russian men broke their own world record in the 4×50 free relay.
The Russian team was very nearly all under 21 seconds, with only the leadoff leg not quite getting under. They break the record set at last year’s Short Course European Championships where once again three legs got under 21 and the fourth couldn’t quite break the barrier. Here’s a quick splits comparison:
Russia 2014 Worlds
- Vlad Morozov: 21.01
- Evgeny Sedov: 20.37
- Oleg Tikhobaev: 20.59
- Sergei Fesikov: 20.63
- Total: 1:22.60
Russia 2013 Euros
- Vlad Morozov: 20.87
- Sergei Fesikov: 20.57
- Evgeny Lagunov: 21.03
- Nikita Konovalov: 20.89
- Total: 1:23.36
You’ll notice that Morozov was actually slower on his leadoff split in Doha than he was last year, and Sergei Fesikov actually added time as well. But the two new additions to the relay really pulled their weight, particularly the young Evgeny Sedov, who had the relay’s best split and the best split of the field.
With these 4×50 relay records still being relatively new to FINA, we’ve seen them drop like flies in Doha. The 4×50 mixed free relay will happen later tonight, the women’s 4×50 free relay is set for tomorrow, and it’s likely we’ll see world records challenged in both.
