2023 VLADIMIR SALNIKOV CUP
The final day of the 2023 Vladimir Salnikov Cup saw a Russian national record fall at the hands of Alexey Sudarev.
Racing in the men’s 200m IM in St. Petersburg, Sudarev busted out a lifetime best of 1:52.13 to earn the victory.
His outing beat the 400m IM gold medalist here Ilya Borodin who settled for silver this time around in 1:53.21 while Maxim Stupin claimed bronze in 1:55.89.
Sudarev’s new PB overtook the previous national standard of 1:53.08 Borodin put on the books just last month at the Russian Short Course Championships. The same trio of competitors as tonight’s podium placed 1st – 3rd there, with Borodin earning gold ahead of Stupin’s 1:53.72 silver and Sudarev clocking 1:54.99 for bronze.
Entering this competition, Sudarev’s overall personal best rested at the 1:53.91 logged last year so the man hacked an impressive chunk of time to score the gold. His time would have rendered him the silver medalist at this year’s European Short Course Championships, though still well back from winner Duncan Scott‘s (GBR) mark of 1:50.98.
Although Russians and Belarusians cannot compete at World Aquatics events under their own flags, in September of this year the organization approved these athletes’ ability to race as neutrals. You can read more about the stipulations surrounding this decision here.