Russian Long Course Championships: Anastasia Zueva, Danila Izotov Shine During Day Three

MOSCOW, Russia, April 20. THE third day of swimming at the Russian Long Course Nationals came to an end with a pair of top-five swims going into the record books in Moscow.

Anastasia Zueva became just the fourth woman under 2:08 this year in the women's 200 back with a victorious time of 2:07.91. That effort put her second in the world behind Belinda Hocking (2:06.88) with Missy Franklin (2:07.96) and Shiho Sakai (2:07.98) also clearing 2:08 this year. Aleksandra Papusha finished a distant second in 2:11.83, while Maria Gromova wound up third in 2:12.91.

Danila Izotov clocked a 1:46.14 to win the men's 200 free, and move to third in the world rankings. Only Sun Yang (1:44.99) and Yannick Agnel (1:45.47) have been faster, while Michael Phelps now sits fourth with a 1:46.27. Nikita Lobintsev placed second in 1:47.23 for seventh in the rankings, while Aleksander Sukhorukov finished third in 1:47.82 for a top 15 spot.

Yuliya Efimova, after a training camp at Trojan Swim Club, picked up the women's 100 breast title in 1:07.44. She improved to eighth in the world rankings with the swim. Darya Deyeva touched second in 1:08.54, while Valentina Artemyeva grabbed third in 1:08.59.

After clocking a 23.87 during men's 50 fly semis earlier in the night to move to 11th in the world rankings, Nikita Konovalov snatched the title during the finale with a 23.88. Evgeny Korotyshkin finished second in 23.95 for a top 15 spot in the rankings, while Vladislav Seryy placed third in 24.51.

Anton Lobanov stopped the clock in 2:11.50 to win the men's 200 breast crown, and pushed him into the top 15 in the world rankings. Grigory Falko finished second in 2:12.34, while Anton Blednykh earned third in 2:12.82.

Oksana Serikova captured the women's 50 free title in 25.45, while Svetlana Fedulova placed second in 25.49. Anastasiya Aksonova picked up third-place honors in 25.81. Yelena Sokolova claimed the women's 800 free crown in 8:37.73, while Anastasia Ivanenko touched second in 8:38.02. Ekaterina Seliverstova placed third in 8:42.15.

In other semifinal action, Veronika Popova hit the wall in 2:11.73 to lead the way in the women's 200 IM after setting the Russian record in the 100 free last night. Her swim pushed her to seventh in the world rankings. Meanwhile, Stanislav Donets cruised to the top seed in the men's 200 back with a 1:59.89.

Viktoria Andreyeva, Svetlana Fedulova, Irina Bespalova and Veronika Popova won the women's 400 free relay this evening in 3:45.27. Notably, Popova clocked a smoking anchor relay of 54.30.

Special thanks to Priscilla Trillo for contributing to this report.

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