Eminent swimmers held final training before the Sakhalin stage of the Russian Cup

The first stage of the Russian Swimming Cup will take place in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on May 1. The island region will host such a large-scale competition in this sport for the first time. Well-known athletes held final training before the starts, the press service of the Ministry of Sports of the Sakhalin Region reported.

The main part of the start participants arrived in Sakhalin and held final training sessions in the 50-meter pool of the water sports sports school. Among the athletes who will compete for the awards of the first stage of the Cup are two-time Olympic medalist in Tokyo, multiple world and European champion, world record holder Kliment Kolesnikov. Here the swimmer will perform at distances of 50 and 100 meters on the back.

“The swimming pool at the water sports school is very good. We were also shown a locker room, a gym, a warm-up room – I really liked it, it’s even better here than in some Moscow pools, ”said the athlete. – For me, the Russian Cup will be a continuation of the Russian Championship. It ended a little over a week ago, so my form is at the same level, and now the main thing is to perform at least the same.

The prize-winner and winner of the European Short Course Championship, prize-winner of the European Championship Evgenia Chikunova also arrived on the island. She recently set a new world record in the 200m breaststroke. At the Russian Championships in Kazan, the athlete showed a result of 2:17.55 seconds and surpassed the achievement of the representative of South Africa Tatiana Schunmaker (2:18.95), which she set in 2021 at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

“Not only is this my first time on Sakhalin, but it’s only the third time I’ve flown this far from home — before that, I’ve been to competitions in Vladivostok and the Olympics in Tokyo. On Sakhalin, we managed to visit the local history museum and look at the sea in the village of Okhotsk, after which we immediately went to training. I liked the local pool – it reminds a little of the one in Obninsk, a very worthy place, ”shared Evgenia. – At the upcoming starts, I will perform breaststroke at all distances. Vitalina Simonova and, possibly, Yana Shakirova can be the main competition for me here.”

223 strongest athletes from all over the country aged 13 years and older will compete for the awards. Of these, 119 are men and 104 are women. Competitions will be held in the 50-meter swimming pool of the water sports sports school. The opening ceremony of the competition will take place at 15:45. Swimming starts at 16:00. On May 2, athletes will continue to start. Start at 11:00.

Anyone can come and cheer for their favorite swimmers. Free admission.

You can also follow the competition online. The live broadcast will take place on the TV channel “Start” and in the group of the All-Russian Swimming Federation in VKontakte. On May 1, the swims will be broadcast via the link https://vk.com/video-39279630_456240684May 2 – https://vk.com/video-39279630_456240685.