Evgeniia Chikunova Hits World-Leading 1:05.11 In 100 Breast On Day 4 Of Russian Championships

2024 RUSSIAN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• April 14-19, 2024
• Kazan, Russia
• LCM (50 meters)
• Meet Central
• Live Results
• Livestream
• Day 1 Recap
• Day 2 Recap
• Day 3 Recap

The fourth day of the 2024 Russian Swimming Championships is officially in the books. Finals of the women’s 100 breaststroke, men’s 50 backstroke, women’s 50 butterfly, men’s 200 breaststroke, men’s 50 freestyle, women’s 400 freestyle, and women’s 200 IM were contested in Kazan tonight. Semifinals of the women’s 100 backstroke and men’s 50 butterfly also line-up behind the blocks to create an action-packed session from start to finish.

After snagging a silver medal during Monday’s 50 breast final, 200 breast world record holder Evgeniia Chikunova touched the wall in a new world-leading time in the 100m distance. The 19-year-old’s clocking of 1:05.11 overtakes Tang Qianting‘s gold medal-winning effort of 1:05.27 from the 2024 World Championships. Tang will have a chance to respond at the upcoming Chinese Olympic Trials, which commence on April 19th.

Splits for Chikunova’s swim include a swift 31.01 opening 50 paired with a 34.10 time over the final lap. At this same meet last year, she became the 7th fastest performer in history with a massive best time of 1:04.92. During that swim, Chikunova was slightly slower during the front half before roaring home over the final 50 in 33.74. See a full splits comparison below.

Splits Comparison:

As a reminder, Chikunova has confirmed that she is not planning to attend the upcoming Paris Olympic Games. “Will I got to the Olympics? No. And I will not receive neutral status,” said Chikunova to Russia’s Match TV in early April. Chikunova added: “I don’t see myself as a neutral athlete. In principle, I do not understand the position of the IOC.” You can read the full article here:

• “Russian World Record Holder Evgeniia Chikunova Will Skip Paris Olympics As Boycott Brews”

Russian record holder Yuliya Efimova (1:07.43) was 3rd tonight, as 50 breast winner Tatiana Belonogoff (1:07.10) outpaced her at the finish. As previously mentioned, Chikunova now leads the world rankings as of April 17th:

Chikunova wasn’t the only star to set a new world-leading time, as backstroke ace Kliment Kolesnikov staked his claim on the men’s 50 backstroke top spot. He sprinted to the wall in a outing of 23.96 to become the only man to break 24-seconds so far this year. Kolesnikov reclaimed his world record in this distance last July, where he scorched 23.55 at this same venue. He overtakes Australia’s Isaac Cooper‘s gold medal performance of 24.12 from the 2024 World Championships.

Securing silver in Kazan tonight was Pavel Samusenko (24.31), who touched ahead of newly-minted 100m back World Junior record holder Miron Lifintsev (24.72). Two-time backstroke Olympic Champion Evgeny Rylov (24.78) settled for 4th place tonight, well of his career-best time of 24.49 from the 2019 World Championships. Sub-53 100m backstroker Dmitry Savenko was 5th overall with his effort of 24.89.

Kolesnikov was back in the water again, where he double up on night four golds in the 50 free. He out-touched rising star Egor Kornev by just 0.01 in 21.89. Kornev finished in 21.90 for his 2nd personal best in the last 24 hours, while Kolesnikov was off his career-best 21.69 from 2022.

Egor Kornev broke 22-seconds for the first time in yesterday’s semifinals, where he notched 21.96 to claim the top seed. On day one, Kornev helped St. Petersburg to the 4×100 free relay gold medal with a lifetime best of 47.87 on the first leg. Yesterday, Kornev led off the mixed 4×100 free relay in 48.23 to win a second relay title.

National team mainstay Arina Surkova blasted a 25.39 in the women’s 50 fly to ensure that she won gold. It was just outside her national record (25.30) from this same meet last year. With her performance in Kazan tonight, she rises to 4th overall in the world rankings. World record holder Sarah Sjostrom (24.63), Zhang Yufei (25.10), and Melanie Henique (25.22) are the only individuals ahead of her so far this season.

19-year-old Daria Klepikova also entered the 25-second realm with her runner-up clocking (25.97). It was a new best time, as she undercut her previous marker of 25.98 from when she was just 16 in 2021. She garnered gold in yesterday’s 100m free event (54.09), where she finished just 0.02 outside of her fastest ever.

Kirill Prigoda was utterly dominant in the men’s 200 breast final. He opened in 1:00.98 through the first 100m to open a decisive lead before ultimately finishing in a rapid overall time of 2:07.48. The short course world record holder just narrowly missed out on his best timeby 0.01, which he set exactly one year ago. He was 2nd in the 100m breast earlier this week in 59.37.

Mikhail Dorinov was runner-up to Prigoda in 2:08.94, his first personal best in this event since 2018. His previous benchmark stood at 2:09.07 from the 2018 Russian Championships.

The men’s 50 fly semifinals showcased a very deep field with three swimmers checking-in at 23.2 or faster. Roman Shevlyakov led the way in 22.92 but Andrei Minakov (23.13) and Egor Yurchenko (23.20) are in position to mount a charge in Thursday’s final. Minakov, who just posted his 2nd fastest ever 100 fly less than 24 hours ago, fell just shy of his 23.02 best from the 2021 Russian Championships.

Other Results:

• 2008-born Sofya Dyakova secured 1st place in the women’s 400 freestyle, where she stopped the clock in 4:08.37 to clear the field by over a full second. She took the race out in a strong 2:02.71 through the first 200m before finishing in 2:05.66. Anna Egorova (4:09.62), who led at the 350m turn, was the only other competitor under 4:10.
• Maria Kameneva was the sole backstroker under 1-minute during the 100 back semifinals. She punched a final time of 59.50 to lead the field by 1.54 seconds as we head into Thursday’s final. She opened in 29.18 before closing in 30.32. The 24-year-old won the 50 back on Monday in 27.83, although she was a swifter 27.73 during semifinals on Sunday.
• 19-year-old Yana Shakirova was the only swimmer to break 2:14 in the women’s 200 IM. She clocked-in at 2:12.92 with splits of 28.55 on fly, 34.95 on back, 37.33 on breast, and 32.09 on free.