Ukraine’s Vladyslav Bukhov Takes Down Govorov’s 50 Free National Record at 21.38

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Vladyslav Bukhov of Ukraine has broken Andrii Govorov‘s 2016 national record in the LCM 50 free, shaving 0.08s off that mark to place second in 2024 Doha semi-finals at 21.38. Govorov set that old mark at the 2016 Rio Olympics to qualify second into the Olympic final. Govorov then settled for fifth in the final. Govorov remains the standing world record holder in the LCM 50 fly at 22.27 from the 2019 Sette Colli Trophy.

Bukhov, a 22-year-old native from Ukraine, has been training at a camp in Loret del Mar, Spain along with several Ukrainian National Team members for the past few months with Andrii Khloptsov.

Bukhov first put up a big drop of 21.56 in prelims, shaving down his previous best time of 21.70 from 2023 Fukuoka. That drop initially moved him from #47 to #29 all time in history. With this 21.38 semi-finals effort, Bukhov now moves up to #17 all-time in history, passing American Cullen Jones‘ 2009 mark of 21.40.

On the European all-time rankings, Bukhov moved from 14th after prelims to 9th all-time, one one-hundredth behind Italian Andrea Vergani (21.37, 2018). Filtering out the five super-suited 2009 performers, Bukhov ranks fifth among textile suit performers.

All-Time European Rankings — LCM Men’s 50 Free

1. Frederick Bosquet, France, 20.94 (2009)
2. Ben Proud, Great Britain, 21.11 (2018)
3. Florent Manaudou, France, 21.19 (2015)
4. Alain Bernard, France, 21.23 (2009)
5. Amaury Leveaux, France, 21.25 (2009)
6. Vlad Morozov, Russia, 21.27 (2019)
7. Duje Draganja, Croatia, 21.29 (2009)
8. Andrea Vergani, Italy, 21.37 (2018)
9. Vladyslav Bukhov, Ukraine, 21.38 (2024)**
10. Krisztian Takacs, Hungary, 21.42 (2009)

All-Time European Rankings, Textile Suit Performers — LCM Men’s 50 Free

1. Ben Proud, Great Britain, 21.11 (2018)
2. Florent Manaudou, France, 21.19 (2015)
3. Vlad Morozov, Russia, 21.27 (2019)
4. Andrea Vergani, Italy, 21.37 (2018)
5. Vladyslav Bukhov, Ukraine, 21.38 (2024)**

Bukhov currently sits 0.15s behind finals top seed Cameron McEvoy of Australia (21.23). McEvoy threw down 21.13 in prelims, and does boast a 21.06 career best, which rankings 4th all-time in history.

Originally reported by James Sutherland.

MEN’S 50 FREESTYLE — SEMI-FINALS

• World Record: 20.91 — Cesar Cielo, Brazil (2009)
• Championship Record: 21.04 — Caeleb Dressel, United States (2019)
• World Junior Record: 21.75 — Michael Andrew, United States (2017)
• 2023 World Champion: 21.06 — Cameron McEvoy, Australia
• Olympic ‘A’ Qualifying Time: 21.96, Olympic ‘B’ Qualifying Time: 22.07

Finals Qualifiers:

1. Cameron McEvoy (AUS), 21.23
2. Vladyslav Bukhov (UKR), 21.38
3. Ben Proud (GBR), 21.54
4. Bjorn Seeliger (SWE), 21.67
5. Kristian Gkolomeev (GRE), 21.72
6. Kenzo Simons (NED), 21.73
7. Isaac Cooper (AUS), 21.74
8. Michael Andrew (USA), 21.77

Cameron McEvoy continued to put his 50 freestyle excellence on display in the semi-finals, coming up after 15 meters well clear of the field in the second heat before roaring to the wall in a time of 21.23.

McEvoy comfortably secures the top seed for tomorrow’s final, coming a tenth shy of his scintillating 21.13 prelim swim. That time from the heats marked the sixth-fastest ever.

Vladyslav Bukhov motored past Ben Proud and Michael Andrew over the last 25 meters in the first semi, touching in 21.38 to lower his newly minted personal best from the prelims (21.56) while also lowering Andriy Govorov‘s Ukrainian Record of 21.46 from 2016.

Bukhov, 22, now ranks 17th all-time in the 50 free. His best time coming into the meet stood at 21.70 from the 2023 World Championships.

Proud had a phenomenal start as always and touched in 21.54 to advance in 3rd, while Sweden’s Bjorn Seeliger dropped a big best time of 21.67 to qualify in 4th.

The swimmers in 5th through 10th were separated by just nine one-hundredths, and it was Andrew squeaking into the final in 8th place, touching in 21.77.