Shymanovich Downs 100 BR Championship Record To Win First Career World Title

2021 FINA SHORT COURSE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

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It was a redemption swim of sorts for Ilya Shymanovich in the men’s 100 breaststroke final at the 2021 Short Course World Championships in Abu Dhabi, as the Belarusian broke the meet record en route to winning his first-ever world title.

Shymanovich got off to a hot start, as he generally does, turning first at the 50 in 25.79, nearly three-tenths clear of Italian Nicolo Martinenghi, who sat second in 26.05.

American Nic Fink made a big push on the third length, and appeared to hold a slight lead at the 75m wall, but it was Shymanovich who pulled ahead down the stretch and sealed the win in a time of 55.70.

Shymanovich’s time breaks the Short Course World Championship Record of 56.01, set by South African Cameron van der Burgh at the 2018 Championships in Hangzhou, China—a meet in which van der Burgh beat Shymanovich head-to-head for gold in both the 50 and 100 breast, with Shymanovich settling for double silver.

Martinenghi won silver in 55.80 and Fink picked up bronze in 55.87, also under van der Burgh’s old CR.

Split Comparison

van der Burgh, who still is the co-world record holder along with Shymanovich in the 50 breast, was always known for his drop-dead speed, and by looking at the splits, it’s clear that Martinenghi and Fink are great closers.

What sets Shymanovich apart is his ability to consistently get out sub-26 and back sub-30.

As to why this swim was a bit of redemption for Shymanovich, it’s because he’s been upended by both Martinenghi and Fink in big spots over the last few months despite the fact he’s lowered the world record multiple times elsewhere.

At the European Short Course Championships in early November, Shymanovich put up a time of 55.45 in the semi-finals before falling to Martinenghi in the final, 55.63 to 55.77.

Then, after lowering his own world record in back-to-back matches during the International Swimming League (ISL) playoffs, clocking consecutive times of 55.32 and 55.28, Shymanovich was outduelled by Fink in the ISL Final, 55.56 to 55.59.

So while it wasn’t his fastest swim ever, or even his fastest this month, this was a significant swim for Shymanovich to overcome his rivals in a big moment.

Coming into the competition, his only two career World Championships medals were those silvers from the 2018 SC Worlds.

As for the time, Shymanovich’s 55.70 marks his ninth-fastest ever, and his 16th under 56 seconds. Nine of those 16 have come in 2021.