2016 RUSSIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS / OLYMPIC TRIALS
- April 16-23rd, 2016
- Moscow, Russia
- Prelims 09:00/Finals 18:00 Local Time
- Prelims 02:00/Finals 11:00 U.S. Eastern Time
- Live results (IN ENGLISH – including event-by-event start lists)
- Olympic selection standards
Women’s 50 Free- Finals
- Russian record: 24.82, Elizaveta Bazarova (2014)
- Olympic selection standard: 24.99
- Natalia Lovtsova, Novosibirsk: 24.97
- Rozaliya Nasretdinova, Moscow: 25.20
- Maria Kameneva, Orenburg: 25.34
28-year-old 2012 Olympian Natalia Lovtsova, who has been back in competition for a year after her 2.5 year doping suspension ended last May, made the Russian Olympic cut in the 50 free, dipping just beneath the needed 24.99 with 24.97.
Lovtsova was the only swimmer to make the cut. Second went to Rozaliya Nasretdinova in 25.20, followed by Maria Kamenva in 25.34.
St. Petersburg teammates Veronika Popova and Daria Kartashova took fourth and fifth in 25.48 and 25.57, respectively.
Men’s 1500 Free- Finals
- Russian record: 14:41.13, Yury Prilukov (2008)
- Olympic selection standard: 15:04.22
- Yaroslav Poptapov, Volgograd: 15:03.61
- Ilya Druzhinin, Volgograd: 15:10.96
- Sergey Bolshakov, Udmurtia: 15:26.58
Junior swimmer Yaroslav Poptapov clocked the only Olympic-qualifying time of the night, swimming the 1500 free in 15:03.61. The previously-unranked Poptapov jumped up ahead of swimmers like Esteban Enderica and Connor Jaeger to move to 18th in the world rankings.
Ilya Druzhinin finished second, missing the Olympic cut by about six seconds with 15:10.96. Sergey Bolshakov took the bronze medal in 15:26.58.
Women’s 4×100 Medley- Finals
- Russian record: 3:56.03 (2012)
- (EX) Russia (Ustinova, Chikunova, Chimrova, Popova): 4:03.32
- St. Petersburg: 4:07.19
- Sverdlovsk: 4:09.57
Per FINA’s relay selection standards, the Russian women have already secured their spot in the women’s 4 x 100 medley in Rio, after finishing in 10th place in Kazan last summer. Today, the team of Daria Ustinova, Daria Chikunova, Svetlana Chimrova, and Veronika Popova combined for 4:03.32, a time that would have scored them 15th at the 2015 Kazan World Championships.
The St. Petersburg team posted the fastest non-exhibition time in 4:07.19, followed by the Sverdlovsk team in 4:09.57.
Men’s 4×100 Medley-Finals
- Russian record: 3:30.60 (2009)
- St. Petersburg (Shabasov, Prigoda, Pakhomov, Lagunev): 3:35.54
- Moscow: 3:37.90
- Volgograd: 3:39.98
The Russian men’s 4 x 100 medley also has a safe spot in the Olympic prelims, after scoring 5th in the FINA World Championships last year.
Tonight, the men of St. Petersburg, Andrei Shabasov, Kirill Prigoda, Daniil Pakhomov, and Evgeny Lagunov, took the top spot in the men’s 4×100 medley, coming in five seconds behind the Russian record with 3:35.54. Their time (which isn’t even representative of the best possible Russian team) would have scored 13th at last year’s FINA World Championships in Kazan.
Moscow grabbed second with 3:37.90, and Volgograd was third with 3:39.98.