Kolesnikov Leads Quartet Of Sub-50-Second SCM 100 Back Performers At Russian Championships

2023 RUSSIAN SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• November 20th – November 25th
• St. Petersburg, Russia
• SCM (25m)
• SwimSwam Preview
• Day 1 Recap
• Results

After ripping a new world-leading effort of 49.22 in last night’s semi-final of the men’s 100m backstroke, Kliment Kolsesnikov fired off an event quicker time to take the gold this evening.

Racing on day two of the 2023 Russian Short Course Championships, 23-year-old Kolesnikov put up a time of 49.12 to lead a quartet of sub-50-second men en route to gold.

Pavel Samusenko stopped the clock in 49.23 as the runner-up while Miron Lifincev, just 17 years of age, logged a time of 49.37 to bag the bronze. Evgeny Rylov just missed the podium, checking in 49.90 as the 4th-place finisher.

Kolesnikov is the top Russian performer in history in this event, holding a PB of 48.58 from this time 3 years ago. Teenager Lifincev had never before been under the 50-second threshold. He is now far and away the fastest 18&U European on the planet.

K2 remains the #1 swimmer in the world while his teammates now fill out slots #2, #3 and #4 after just this one race.

While Belarusian Ilya Shymanovich led last night’s 100m breaststroke semi-final, tonight it was Danil Semyaninov who stole the spotlight.

25-year-old Semyaninov got to the wall in a result of 56.49 to eke out the victory over Shymanovich who settled for silver in 56.55. Kirill Prigoda, Russia’s reigning national record holder, rounded out the top 3 in 56.60.

As with the backstroke, Russia now dominates the top spots in this event among the world’s best this season. Semyaninov ties Dutchman Arno Kamminga for #1 while Shymanovich and Prigoda now rank #3 and #4, respectively.

World Record holder in the 200m breast, Evgenia Chikunova, was the quickest of the 50m breast field tonight.

The 19-year-old posted a swift 29.54 to grab the gold, denying Alina Zmushka a repeat title in the event. Zmushka earned silver in 29.66 while 31-year-old Yuliya Efimova also landed on the podium in 29.95 for bronze.

Efimova is competing in her first event since the Tokyo Olympic Games. Her semi-final time from last night was actually slightly quicker at 29.86. Of note, Nika Godun also dipped under the 30-second barrier in 29.99 as the 4th-place finisher.

Chikunova now inserts herself among the top 5 performers worldwide this season in slot #5.

Additional Notes

• Maria Kameneva sliced .07 off of her semi-final time to clock 57.23 and win the women’s 100m backstroke. She registered the sole mark of the field under 58 seconds.
• The women’s 200m fly saw Svetlana Chimrova strike gold, producing a top time of 2:08.00 to beat the field by over 2 seconds.
• Martin Malyutin topped the men’s 200m free podium in a result of 1:42.77, a mark which ranks as the 24-year-old’s 10th-best performance of his career.
• Andrei Minakov landed lane 4 for tomorrow night’s 100m fly final. He snagged a semi-final outing of 49.73 as the sole swimmer under 50 seconds. Roman Shevlyakov will flank him as the 2nd-quickest in 50.32 while Samusenko will be on the other side in 50.39. Minakov owns a lifetime best of 49.21, a result which garnered the Russian the bronze medal at the 2022 Short Course World Championships.
• Daria Trofimova claimed the top spot out of the women’s 100m free heats. She produced an effort of 53.15 to hold a healthy advantage over Kameneva who qualified next in 53.72 while Daria Surushkina will also be in the mix with a 53.90 semi swim.