World Record Holder Kliment Kolesnikov Chosen for 2018 Youth Olympics

Russia has announced an 8 swimmer roster for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games that will be held from October 7th-12th in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Russia is one of 16 teams that are eligible to send a full 8-swimmer team to the event, based on their point placement at the 2017 FINA World Championships.

The roster will be one of the best that any nation has ever sent to the swimming portion of the Summer Youth Olympics, which will see their 3rd edition in 2018. While many nations continue to hold the event as a second-tier meet, sending athletes from outside of their primary junior and senior international squads, Russia has gone full-bore.

That includes Kliment Kolesnikov, who in December set the World Record in the 100 short course meter backstroke, and then in August at the European Championships took down the 50 long course meter World Record: his first senior World Record in long course.

Also attending from that European Championship squad is backstroker and butterflier Polina Egorova, whose highest finish was 11th in the 200 back at Euros.

Andrei Minakov, who won 7 medals at the 2018 European Junior Championships (5 gold, 2 silver), will also be at the meet. He won the 50 fly there in 23.56, was 2nd in the 100 free (by .01) in 49.24, and was 2nd in the 100 fly behind Kristof Milak in 52.38. Daniil Markov (3 medals), Gerasimenko (4 gold medals), Daria Vaskina (3 gold medals), Elizaveta Klevanovich (7 medals), and Anastasia Makarova (3 medals) also finished on the podium at those European Junior Championships.

Russia finished 2nd to China (6 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze, 13 total) in the swimming portion of the 2014 Youth Olympics, and won 9 medals (2 gold, 5 silver, 2 bronze) at the 2010 edition for 6th in the medals standings.

1. Kliment Kolesnikov (Moscow)
2. Andrey Minakov (St. Petersburg)
3. Vladislav Gerasimenko (Kaluga region)
4. Daniil Markov (Novosibirsk Region)
5. Daria Vaskina (Moscow)
6. Polina Egorova (Republic of Bashkortostan)
7. Elizaveta Klevanovich (Tyumen region)
8. Anastasia Makarova (Moscow region)

To be eligible, athletes must have been born between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2003, which means all athletes are between the ages of 15 and 18. This also means each athlete only has one shot at the Youth Olympic Games, having been too young at the prior or too old for the next.