﻿{"id":473608,"date":"2021-05-20T05:20:58","date_gmt":"2021-05-20T12:20:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=473608"},"modified":"2021-05-20T07:22:12","modified_gmt":"2021-05-20T14:22:12","slug":"can-russia-take-down-the-american-men-in-the-olympic-400-freestyle-relay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/can-russia-take-down-the-american-men-in-the-olympic-400-freestyle-relay\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Russia Take Down the American Men in the Olympic 400 Freestyle Relay?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Can Russia Take Down the American Men in the Olympic 400 Freestyle Relay?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The American men have not lost the 400 freestyle relay at an international meet since <strong>Caeleb Dressel<\/strong> first joined the squad at the 2016 Olympics and became entrenched as the leadoff man. After taking down France at the Rio Olympics, the Americans won world titles in the event in 2017 and 2019. While <strong>Michael Phelps<\/strong> retired after 2016, <strong>Nathan Adrian<\/strong> has remained a stalwart on the anchor leg, a position he has found himself in on so many occasions going back to 2009.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_473498\" style=\"width: 385px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-473498\" data-attachment-id=\"473498\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/european-championships-day-3-heats-kolesnikov-blasts-52-32-100-back-207-39-200br-for-kamminga\/xxxv-len-european-aquatic-championships-budapest-2020-17\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Kliment-Kolesnikov-50-back-gold-2021-European.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1200,965\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;4&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Giorgio Scala \\\/ Deepbluemedia \\\/ Insidefoto&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;NIKON D5&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;MEN - 50M BACKSTROKE - FINAL\\nKOLESNIKOV Kliment RUS Russia Celebrate\\nWorld Record\\nSwimming\\nBudapest  - Hungary  18\\\/5\\\/2021\\nDuna Arena\\nXXXV LEN European Aquatic Championships\\nPhoto Giorgio Scala \\\/ Deepbluemedia \\\/ Insidefoto&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1621365660&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;Giorgio Scala \\\/ Deepbluemedia \\\/ Insidefoto&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;3600&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0008&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;XXXV LEN European Aquatic Championships Budapest 2020&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"XXXV LEN European Aquatic Championships Budapest 2020\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;MEN &#8211; 50M BACKSTROKE &#8211; FINAL KOLESNIKOV Kliment RUS Russia Celebrate World Record Swimming Budapest &#8211; Hungary 18\/5\/2021 Duna Arena XXXV LEN European Aquatic Championships Photo Giorgio Scala \/ Deepbluemedia \/ Insidefoto 2020, Aquatics, Budapest, European Championships, LEN, Sport, swimming&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala \/ Deepbluemedia \/ Insidefoto&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Kliment-Kolesnikov-50-back-gold-2021-European-700x500.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Kliment-Kolesnikov-50-back-gold-2021-European-1024x823.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-473498\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Kliment-Kolesnikov-50-back-gold-2021-European-450x362.jpg\" alt=\"MEN - 50M BACKSTROKE - FINAL KOLESNIKOV Kliment RUS Russia Celebrate World Record Swimming Budapest - Hungary 18\/5\/2021 Duna Arena XXXV LEN European Aquatic Championships Photo Giorgio Scala \/ Deepbluemedia \/ Insidefoto\" width=\"375\" height=\"302\" srcset=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Kliment-Kolesnikov-50-back-gold-2021-European-450x362.jpg 450w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Kliment-Kolesnikov-50-back-gold-2021-European-1024x823.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Kliment-Kolesnikov-50-back-gold-2021-European-249x200.jpg 249w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Kliment-Kolesnikov-50-back-gold-2021-European-300x241.jpg 300w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Kliment-Kolesnikov-50-back-gold-2021-European-1119x900.jpg 1119w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Kliment-Kolesnikov-50-back-gold-2021-European-533x429.jpg 533w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Kliment-Kolesnikov-50-back-gold-2021-European.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 375px) 100vw, 375px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-473498\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Russia&#8217;s Kliment Kolesnikov, the top-ranked swimmer in the world in the 100 free, at the 2021 European Championships &#8212; Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala \/ Deepbluemedia \/ Insidefoto<\/p><\/div>\n<p>At the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, the most significant challenge will no doubt come from Russia, which took silver at the 2019 Worlds and has a strong core of young sprinters it will rely on. That includes 20-year-old <strong>Kliment<\/strong> <strong>Kolesnikov<\/strong>, who owns the fastest time in the world for 2021 at 47.33 and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/european-championships-day-3-finals-kolesnikov-wins-100-free-in-cr-47-37-gold-for-romanchuk-hansson\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">won gold at the European Championships in the 100 free Wednesday in 47.37<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, Russia currently owns three of the top four times in the world with 19-year-old <strong>Andrei Minakov<\/strong> (47.74) and <strong>Vladimir Grinev<\/strong> (47.85), the 2019 World Championships bronze medalist in the 100 free, both under 48. Either <strong>Aleksandr<\/strong> <strong>Shchegolev<\/strong>, veteran sprinter <strong>Vladimir Morozov<\/strong> or backstroke specialist <strong>Evgeny Rylov<\/strong> could handle the fourth leg, and all are capable of 47-second splits. A quartet of Minakov, Shchegolev, Grinev and Kolesnikov cruised to victory at the <a href=\"http:\/\/budapest2020.microplustiming.com\/indexBudapest2021_web.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">European championships<\/a> this week in 3:10.41.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the Americans\u2019 2021 results do not present a very compelling argument for deeming them the Olympic gold medal favorites in the 400 free relay, although the upcoming U.S. Olympic Trials could change that. Dressel owns the top time in the country at 48.00, and only three others, <strong>Ryan<\/strong> <strong>Held<\/strong>, Adrian and <strong>Blake<\/strong> <strong>Pieroni<\/strong>, have even cracked 49. But while Russia selected its Olympic team in April, the Americans still have their Olympic Trials to come, and the bar is set high for the 100 free. In 2019, the last full year of competition prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, American sprinters posted some truly remarkable performances in the event.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_384285\" style=\"width: 385px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-384285\" data-attachment-id=\"384285\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/can-russia-take-down-the-american-men-in-the-olympic-400-freestyle-relay\/caelebdresseld\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/caelebdresselD.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"800,484\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;PATRICK B. KRAEMER&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Caeleb Dressel of the United States of America (USA) reacts after winning in the men&#039;s 50m Freestyle Final during the Swimming events at the Gwangju 2019 FINA World Championships, Gwangju, South Korea, 27 July 2019.&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"caelebdresselD\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Caeleb Dressel of the United States of America (USA) reacts after winning in the men&#8217;s 50m Freestyle Final during the Swimming events at the Gwangju 2019 FINA World Championships, Gwangju, South Korea, 27 July 2019.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Photo Courtesy: PATRICK B. KRAEMER&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/caelebdresselD-700x484.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/caelebdresselD.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-384285\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/caelebdresselD.jpg\" alt=\"Caeleb Dressel of the United States of America (USA) reacts after winning in the men's 50m Freestyle Final during the Swimming events at the Gwangju 2019 FINA World Championships, Gwangju, South Korea, 27 July 2019.\" width=\"375\" height=\"227\" srcset=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/caelebdresselD.jpg 800w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/caelebdresselD-280x169.jpg 280w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/caelebdresselD-300x182.jpg 300w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/caelebdresselD-450x272.jpg 450w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/caelebdresselD-150x91.jpg 150w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/caelebdresselD-500x303.jpg 500w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/caelebdresselD-533x322.jpg 533w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 375px) 100vw, 375px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-384285\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Caeleb Dressel has led the United States to two straight world titles in the 400 free relay &#8212; Photo Courtesy: Patrick B. Kraemer<\/p><\/div>\n<p>In 2019, six Americans swam under 48, the most in any calendar year: Dressel (46.96), Held (47.39), <strong>Maxime Rooney<\/strong> (47.61), <strong>Zach<\/strong> <strong>Apple<\/strong> (47.69), Pieroni (47.87) and <strong>Tate Jackson<\/strong> (47.88). <strong>Dean Farris<\/strong> (48.07) narrowly missed getting under that barrier, and Adrian, in a season following surgery to treat testicular cancer, had a season-best time of 48.17. Heading into the original 2020 Olympic season, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/navigating-the-u-s-olympic-trials-gauntlet-in-mens-100-freestyle-will-be-no-easy-task\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">it was a fair presumption to expect that it would take close to 48.0 or maybe under just to qualify for the semifinals at Olympic Trials<\/a>. Now, following the one-year delay and inconsistent training conditions for top athletes around the country, the prognosis is more murky.<\/p>\n<p>In order to properly compare the 400 free relay potential for the United States against Russia, we will need to use 2019 times for the Americans. Exactly how this relay will shake out at the Olympics will become much more clear once we see exactly how fast the stable of American sprinters manages to swim at the Olympic Trials next month in Omaha. But here is the best projection based on the information currently available. This relay hypothetical will only compare flat start times, so that excludes times like the 47.0 splits Adrian and Rylov swam on the end of their respective relays at the 2019 Worlds.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>United States (2019): Dressel 46.96 + Held 47.39 + Rooney 47.61 + Apple 47.69 = 3:09.65<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Russia (2021): Kolesnikov 47.31 + Minakov 47.74 + Grinev 47.85 + Morozov 48.00 = 3:10.90<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>From that perspective, the Americans have a small margin of breathing room, but again, this is all dependent on the U.S. swimmers replicating their outstanding 2019 performances this time around, which is far from a guarantee. In fact, it would be downright stunning if that ends up as the quartet that represents the U.S. in the 400 free relay in Tokyo.<\/p>\n<p>The 100 free at Olympic Trials still projects as a slugfest to qualify for the semifinals\u2014which will likely require a time in the high-48 or low-49 range\u2014and then to get into the final. Six of the eight swimmers who get into the final will end up qualifying for Tokyo as (at least) relay alternates, so maybe they can push each other to times akin to the heights of 2019. But until Omaha, those relay projections are fool\u2019s gold. It\u2019s clear how good the Russians are in 2021, but the Americans still have plenty to prove.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Can Russia Take Down the American Men in the Olympic 400 Freestyle Relay? The American men have not lost the 400 freestyle relay at an international meet since Caeleb Dressel<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":473569,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,17,10],"tags":[72101,34385,128402,93524,63314,31607,35724,48811,37159,63284,36898,6302,25038,32355,26559,60856],"class_list":["post-473608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-commentary","category-world","tag-2020-olympic-swimming-trials","tag-2020-tokyo-olympic-games","tag-2021-european-aquatics-championships","tag-aleksandr-shchegolev","tag-andrei-minakov","tag-blake-pieroni","tag-caeleb-dressel","tag-dean-farris","tag-evgeny-rylov","tag-kliment-kolesnikov","tag-maxime-rooney","tag-michael-phelps","tag-nathan-adrian","tag-ryan-held","tag-vladimir-morozov","tag-zach-apple"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>Can Russia Take Down the American Men in the Olympic 400 Free Relay?<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Caeleb Dressel and the United States have dominated the 400 free relay for years, but Russia will be a major threat at the Tokyo Olympics.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/can-russia-take-down-the-american-men-in-the-olympic-400-freestyle-relay\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can Russia Take Down the American Men in the Olympic 400 Freestyle Relay?\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Caeleb Dressel and the United States 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