20-year-old Evgeny Rylov sparkled at day four of the Russian Nationals in Moscow with his stunning European Record in the men’s 200 backstroke, the event he won a bronze medal at the Olympics for last summer. Rylov went a 1:53.81, faster than his Olympic time (1:53.97) and his previous European record he set in Rio. Rylov said he was not expecting such a fast result and confessed that he is not in his best shape, in his opinion. Kliment Kolesnikov, who’s only 17 years old, got silver and second spot in the team, set Junior World Record (1:55.49). Andrey Shabasov had bronze with 1:57.71.
40 minutes later, Rylov swam in the men’s 50 backstroke and set a National Record with a 24.52, a result that ranks him number one in the world this year. Grigory Tarasevich won silver and heads to the World Championships, with 24.93. Kolesnikov tied for bronze with Nikita Ulyanov (25.18).
Svetlana Chimrova set a national record in the women’s 100 butterfly final with 57.15. Chimrova’s previous national record was set in semifinals yesterday (57.42). Polina Egorova finished second with a 58.91, a result that gives her a ticket to Worlds. 12-year-old Alexandra Sabitova, who sensationally won bronze, was third and posted 59.42 – definitely one of fastest times in her age group ever.
Yuila Efimova tried a new event and qualified for the women’s 200 IM finals with the second fastest time – 2:14.69. Victoria Andreeva grabbed the top seed with a 2:13.22, and Kristina Vershinina was third with a 2:14.75.
15 minutes later, Efimova swam in the women’s 100 breast semifinal and posted a 1:06.40, a result that puts her second in the world rankings behind Sweden’s Jenny Johansson. Natalia Iveneeva was second into the final with 1:06.91 and Maria Temnikova was third (1:09.24).
Anton Chupkov was the first qualifier for the men’s 100 breaststroke finals with 59.86, with Vsevolod Zanko just 0.04 behind him – 59.90. Ilya Khomenko was close too with a 59.94.
Polina Egorova impressed in the women’s 100 backstroke semifinals with a personal best – 59.95. This is her first sub – 1:00 time. Also it was the first time she beat two backstroke aces – Darya K. Ustinova (1:00.96) and Anastasia Fesikova (1:01.25). Maria Kameneva (1:01.23), Polina Lapshina (1:01.24), Irina Prikhodko (1:01.41) and Ekaterina Tomashevskaya (1:01.60) completed the final line-up.
Alexander Krasnykh was the top seed in the men’s 200 freestyle with a 1:47.12. Mikhail Dovgalyuk with a 1:47.32 and Danila Izotov (1:47.41) were the next qualifiers.
Rozalia Nasretdinova celebrated victory in the women’s 50 freestyle, her result of 25.02 gives her a chance to compete in Budapest. Natalia Lovtcova (25.09) and Maria Kameneva (25.44) completed the podium.
Alexander Popkov won the men’s 100 butterfly semifinals with fastest time 52.23. He’ll get lane four for tomorrow’s finals, with Egor Kyumov (52.26) and Olympian Alexander Sadovnikov (52.42) as his closest rivals.
Veronika Popova, who already holds national title in the 400, won the women’s 200 freestyle with a 1:57.27. She made the Worlds team and grabbed the gold. Anastasia Guzhenkova surprisingly beat Victoria Andreeva for silver and second spot in the team – 1:57.38 against 1:58.25.
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Congratulations