Russian Long Course Nationals: Yuliya Efimova, Alexander Sukhorukov Shine

MOSCOW, Russia, May 7. TODAY's finals at the Russian Long Course Nationals produced some world-class races in a few events.

Yuliya Efimova put herself into the conversation as one of the top breaststrokers in the world this year with a 1:07.56 to win the women's 100 breast. That swim vaulted Efimova up to fourth in the world rankings, behind only Leisel Jones (1:05.79), Rebecca Soni (1:06.43) and Samantha Marshall (1:07.45). Valentina Artemiev finished a distant second tonight in 1:09.54, while Olga Detenyuk placed third in 1:09.61.

"I'm glad I won and was selected for the European Championships," Efimova told Russian Swimming. "Unfortunately, I failed to fully prepare for this meet due to the fact that I had to prepare for an academic exam. Now that the exam is over, I'll be ready for Europe and can show my best result."

Alexander Sukhorukov jumped into the top 10 in the world in the men's 200 free with a victorious effort of 1:47.59 this evening. That performance placed Sukhorukov eighth, just behind Paul Biedermann's 1:47.56 clocked during the Duel in the Pool in February. Danila Izotov finished second in 1:48.31, moving to 20th in the world rankings. Nikita Lobintsev (1:48.58) and Evgeny Lagunov (1:49.06) completed the top four.

"I prepared for this event, and really wanted to win," Sukhorukov told Russian Swimming. "Emotionally and physically, I was prepared very well. I am also very pleased that I had a lot of competition in this swim. Our entire team is young, strong, ambitious and has the desire to win."

Sergei Bolshakov won the men's 1500 free in 15:22.03, a top 25 world-ranked time, while Vitaly Romanovich took second in 15:25.39. Alexander Shimin (15:28.88) and Yuri Prilukov (15:31.24) touched third and fourth in the distance event.

Alexander Tikhonov cruised to victory in the men's 200 IM with a 2:01.81, while Alex Atsapkin touched second in 2:02.92. Dmitriy Gorbunov earned third overall in 2:03.13. Veronica Popova snatched the women's 100 free title in 55.33, with Margarita Nesterova (55.79) and Svetlana Fedulova (56.06) picking up second and third.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use