Update Post: December 4, 2023 10:24 pm
Yulia Efimova returns after a break. Is she still the coolest in Russia or not anymore?
Tatyana Postnikova November 20, 2023, 16:45 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Everything will become clear during the Russian Short Course Championships.
On November 20, the Russian Short Course Swimming Championships begin in Saint Petersburg. The tournament promises to be incredibly interesting, at least because of Yulia Efimova’s return to major competitions after a two-year break. Who and what should you watch at the national championship?
“I missed wrestling in the 200 meters”
Of course, the main event in the Chechen Republic is the return of Yulia Efimova. The two-time Olympic silver medalist hasn’t competed in almost two years. At the beginning of November, the Russian decided to resume her career and compete in Russia. To reach the Chechen championship, Efimova had to qualify for the Southern Federal District championship, where she had not competed since she was 14 years old. However, Yulia showed excellent results there: she won fifty dollars, one hundred and 200 m breaststroke and also came second in the 100 m medley. All this allowed the titled athlete to conquer her place in the Czech Republic.
Why did Efimova decide to return after a two-year hiatus?
Efimova unexpectedly returned from the United States to Russia and resumed her career. Why do you need this?
In Saint Petersburg, more is expected than Yulia’s return to major tournaments. Everyone is expecting a great fight between the six-time world champion and the daring Evgenia Chikunova, who broke the world record in the 200m breaststroke this season. For a long time, due to Efimova’s absence, the young athlete had no serious competition in Russia. It is not surprising that Chikunova reacted positively to Yulia’s return.
“Yulia is a fighter. She is very, very competitive. And if she reaches good speeds, she will be an advantage for me, because to some extent she misses the fight in the 200 m, so she will be more interesting and spectacular. And it will be interesting to see how it all comes together. I don’t even know if she could come back in her situation. She is great,” Evgenia said.
Evgenia Chikunova
Photo: RIA Novosti
The last duel between athletes took place in 2021 in the Czech Republic in the short course. Then Efimova took two silvers and two golds, and Chikunova did not win a single medal. In two years, Evgenia has improved her skills. But Julia’s shape is still not entirely clear. However, it will definitely be interesting to watch the heated duel between the two best swimmers in the country.
“I don’t like making wishes.”
The men also promise to give fire. Most of the high-level athletes came to the Chechen Republic: Evgeny Rylov, Kliment Kolesnikov, Martin Malyutin. Rylov and Kolesnikov will obviously compete in the 50 and 100 meters, perhaps Kliment will try again for the short course world record. This year, Kolesnikov has already renewed the world’s best result in the fifty kopecks backstroke in the 50-meter pool. But before the Chechen Championships, the athlete refused to make predictions.
“I don’t like making fortunes at all. Rather, I start from sensations. You can feel confident and get to the competition and swim in completely different seconds than you had planned,” Kliment told Match TV.
How did Kolesnikov perform in the Russian Cup final?
“I must admit that I have no equal in the world.” The Russian swimmer knocked out the world stars
In addition, the best Russian swimmer, Andrei Minakov, flew to St. Petersburg from the United States. He is the clear favorite in the fifty and hundred butterfly. From Minakov’s performance it will be possible to judge, with some reservations, how the training of athletes in the United States differs from the training in Russia.
All of these top-level swimmers will compete together in the 50 and 100 meter freestyle. It will be interesting to see who comes out stronger.
The CR short course will last from November 20 to 25. The final begins at 5:30 p.m.