Russian runner Savlukov broke a European record that had stood for a quarter of a century: “I thought I’d sneak up”

The first competition of Russian athletics in the coming year was the traditional “Christmas starts – Memorial E.S. Yalamova” in Yekaterinburg. They have already taken place for the 33rd time and brought together the strongest athletes in the country. More than 140 athletes from 32 regions. In total, 14 sets of awards were played out, yet winter dictates its indoors: 60 m, 60 m s/b, 300 m, 600 m, 1000 m, 3000 m. And – the high jump, beloved by the stands, the only technical event at this start. But even the presence of Olympic champion Maria Lasitskene, world indoor champion Danil Lysenko and world championship medalist Ilya Ivanyuk did not overshadow the events on the track this time.

And how it warms the soul: 1 minute 15.09 seconds of Savely Savlukov at a distance of 600 meters versus 1 minute 15.12 seconds of the German Nico Motchebon, who showed these seconds already in February 1999. Think about how many years have passed, a quarter of a century! And it warms the soul even more that the new record holder was born in our athletics, to which it is already automatically customary to add the definition of “long-suffering”, because, as it received sanctions in 2015, it was not allowed anywhere, although it was formally returned.

By the way, Savely Savlukov, who turned 24 years old on January 6, the day before the record, still had one international start in his life. A long time ago – back in 2019, the European Junior Championships, where he ran 800 meters. But even the runner himself practically doesn’t remember about it.

Savely generally specializes in the 400-meter distance, but this is the format of the winter tournament: 600 meters are run in halls on 200-meter tracks. But all successful paths in sports, whether short or ordinary, lead, as we know, to the high road. And there is no point in emphasizing that the 600 meters is not an Olympic distance. A record is a self-sufficient concept. Specifically, this European record at a distance of 600 m lasted for many years. And it was not beaten at all because no one tried to do it.

But there may be such a motivation. Savlukov, having won such a resounding victory on a European scale at the Christmas Starts tournament, said that in the winter season he would like to close the Russian record for 400 meters. Yes, even 500 and 600 meters. In the summer – also to reach the Russian record. “As long as they don’t let us out, that’s the goal to take all the records of Russia.” Briefly and clearly.

Savely Savlukov even in Yekaterinburg “overthrew” the Olympic champion Yuri Borzakovsky himself with his running: in Russia it was Borzakovsky who set the previous record for 600 meters almost fourteen years ago: 1 minute 16.02 seconds. By the way, Saveliy Savlukov’s coach is the famous Sergei Klevtsov. (He is also the personal mentor of our titled hurdler Sergei Shubenkov.) So, after the record-breaking race, the Olympic champion congratulated the coach and athlete. As Klevtsov says, Yuri wished them to improve his result in the 800 meters (Borzakovsky’s signature distance). To which, however, I received objections: there are plans to break records at a distance of 400 meters, but let the highest achievement at 800 meters remain with the Olympic champion for life.

In recent years, we have become accustomed to perceiving athletics through victories and big names in the high jump, pole vault, and walking sectors. Now we’re talking about running. Savlukov began performing at the adult level in the summer of 2022. And the appearance of the athlete was accompanied by talk that he was about to break the now eternal record of Viktor Markin, set at a distance of 400 meters at the Olympic Games in Moscow. True, coach Klevtsov poses the question differently: he doesn’t want to beat Markin’s record (44.60 seconds), but to run 400 meters in 43 seconds.

But this is about the future, perhaps the near future. And after the European record for 600 m, Savely admitted in an interview with the ARAF press service: “I didn’t expect such a result. Somewhere I thought that I would sneak up, but to that extent, no.” He said that they were preparing for a Russian record – it was desirable to jump out of 16 seconds, but “it turned out even better,” the coach called after the race, he was pleased, and said that he did everything according to schedule. And the record holder also tried to characterize his first thoughts after looking at the scoreboard: such seconds – “class, thrill, pure pleasure.”

Savely made a conclusion after the tournament that is both pleasing and encouraging: we need to slowly improve. “Now we are preparing calmly, without any sudden work. Let’s get going, we’ll be in perfect shape by February.”

In addition to the European record, Ekaterinburg also gave us another beautiful victory on the track. The highest all-Russian achievement among U20 juniors in the 300 m race was set by 18-year-old Serafim Solodovnikov – 33.53 seconds. At the same time, he broke both the result from 2012 (Nikita Vesnin – 34.14) and the 2022 record (Ilya Sazonov – 33.74), which was not approved due to the lack of doping control at competitions. Directly spared no one, jumping through the decade.

Seraphim has not only only heard about international competitions, but also hasn’t really gotten used to it in an adult environment. But at the same time, he himself said the most important thing about his final race: he went out with a cool head, he understood that he had to win. “Actually, I won.”

And he refused to even discuss the topic of a possible meeting in the future with Savely Savlukov at a distance of 400 meters: it’s too early, Savely is already experienced, but we have enough competition in Russia. And he showed a real attitude instead of boring arguments about finding motivation: “as long as there are guys ready to run, there will always be competition.”

I don’t know whether Maria Lasitskene’s entry to the start line can be considered a record; in the current situation, it is the leaders who find it most difficult, but the Olympic champion opened the winter season in Yekaterinburg. The ranks of titled athletes who have fought for the honor of our athletics in recent years, already very modest (only 10 people were admitted to the Tokyo Games), are thinning, no matter how much we would like to “freeze” everyone in the sector. In December, for example, Anzhelika Sidorova, an Olympic medalist and world champion, announced her departure from the pole vault sector. She retired the day after World Athletics President Sebastian Coe announced that Russian athletes would not take part in the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024.

Maria Lasitskene in Yekaterinburg cleared the bar at a height of 1.89 meters, and most importantly, she continues to perform. (Kristina Koroleva was second, Maria Kochanova was in third place, both stopped at an altitude of 1.86). Danil Lysenko also won, showing a result of 2.27 meters (Ilya Ivanyuk overcame the same height, Nikita Anishchenkov – 2.23).

Maria refuses to answer the question about ending her career if World Athletics still does not release our athletes to international competitions in 2024. And he does the right thing: while you have the strength, you need to perform. And it is in our common interests that the world’s only three-time world champion remain in the sector as long as possible, so this issue should simply be closed.

The Olympic champion, having won in Yekaterinburg, said: the main thing is that they started to compete. I was happy about the fans, who were cheering “very zealously, coolly.” And, assessing the result, she clarified that she would not scold herself too much. She cited as an example the words after the start of her permanent coach Gennady Gabrilyan, who said: we’re taking aim, we’re taking a closer look. And she noted: “I am grateful to the body that it can withstand and carry me.”