A splash of victory: swimmers bring home 10 World Championship medals

On Tuesday, December 17, Russian swimmers returned from the World Short Course Championships in Budapest, where they managed to win six gold and four silver medals (only the USA has more). And that's considering the very modest representation: only 28 Russians competed in the Hungarian capital, 13 of whom brought home awards. At the airport Vnukovo the triumphant athletes were met by journalists and fans - about 100 people.

Boundless respect

It was impossible to find out about the emotions of our athletes after the victorious swims in Budapest. The ban on interviews was prescribed in the rules for neutral athletes. Also, the official website of the All-Russian Swimming Federation could not give news about the Russians' successes at the World Championships in Budapest. Therefore, the first quotes of our champions began to leak to the media only after the official end of the tournament. It is gratifying that in the final swim in Budapest our athletes (Miron Lifintsev, Kirill Prigoda, Andrey Minakov, Egor Kornev) set a world record in the men's 4x100m combined relay.

- We really wanted to set a bold point and bring back our world record, which was held in the men's relay for a very long time, until the last World Championships in 2022," Kirill Prigoda, the most experienced Russian swimmer at the 2024 World Championships, admitted to Izvestia. - But my guys and I didn't go to the start with this thought in mind. We just wanted to work hard and compete. There were strong rivals nearby, who know how to gather and give their maximum at the right moment. Of course, by the sixth competition day everyone was tired, somewhere we jumped over our heads. Not to mention that the preparation had to change dramatically, as we learned about the trip to the World Cup only a few weeks before the start. Still, in these conditions we wanted to give our best, and the guys gave their best. Miron [Lifintsev], Andrey [Minakov], and Egor [Kornev] are great guys. This victory was symbolic. The last distance, the last swim, and we set a bright point, and with a world record. The guys are young, they don't realize everything yet. For Miron and Egor it's the first World Cup in their lives. I already realize how symbolic and important it is. So I'm glad that I stood shoulder to shoulder with them. All three of them have my utmost respect. And a special thanks to the participants of the morning relay for placing us on the center lanes.

Prigoda has become one of the main protagonists of the 2024 World Cup. The St. Petersburg native took away six (!) medals from Hungary at once. Kirill was part of all three gold relays. In the individual races he was on the podium three times. In the 100-meter dash he lost only two hundredths to the Olympic champion of Paris Qin Haiyan, in the 200-meter dash he was 0.33 seconds behind the Spaniard Carles Col Marti, in the 50-meter dash he lost to the representative of China only 14 hundredths. But 18-year-old Miron Lifintsev, in addition to three gold medals in the relay, won two individual events: 50m and 100m backstroke.

- Does my status as a Russian sports star put pressure on me? No, absolutely not," Miron Lifintsev admitted to the media. - Yes, I read these [laudatory] posts, but I don't like it. I don't like to be the center of attention. That's why I was only glad that I didn't make any comments during the World Cup. I tried to focus on my own time, not paying attention to athletes from other countries. Any particular excitement? No. Only when I arrived I was a bit surprised by the scale of the competition.

In short water: Russian swimmers triumphantly returned to the international arena

Four golds for Miron Lifintsev and a world record in the relay race

The Vyborg native trains in the group of Olga Baidalova and Elena Kuznetsova in St. Petersburg.

- One medal will go to Olga Baidalova for the Christmas tree," said Lifintsev. - I will keep the rest.

Another of our gold medalists in the individual race was 21-year-old Ilya Borodin. The Bryansk swimmer went to the tournament in Budapest in the status of a favorite: at the Russian Championships at his crowning distance (400 m complex swimming) he showed a time of three minutes 57.67 seconds, which gave reason to think not only about the victory, but also about the world record (Japanese Daiya Seto, 3 minutes 54.81 seconds, 2019).

In the end, Seto's record could not be broken, but Borodin still won the final swim in perhaps the most difficult discipline.

- "We were preparing for the Russian Championships in November as our main start," Ilya Borodin told Izvestia. - But we just found ourselves in such conditions. We just had to keep in shape for two weeks. I think the whole team coped, although my result was lower than in November. How did the athletes from other national teams meet you? The guys I swam with, we've known each other for a long time. Some since 2019, some since 2021. Everyone is on positive terms. Were happy, congratulated on their return.

Special attention

In general, all our athletes noted that there were no problems, and even more provocations, from colleagues. And the attention to the World Cup in Russia was at an outrageous level.

- After almost three years of isolation, it is very pleasant that another sport has been added, which can be followed on the international arena. Therefore, I consider the increased interest to be quite natural," Kirill Prigoda said in a conversation with Izvestia. - The start in Budapest was interesting and expected. Both from my side as an athlete, who for three years was deprived of the opportunity to compete with competitors from other countries, and for the fans who missed international swimming. I would say that sport in our country has not fallen into a hole from which it is impossible to get out. Even by the composition of the guys I swam the relay with, you can tell that they are athletes hungry for big victories. More adaptable to the current realities than even my generation. To endure a three-year suspension, to keep their hunger and desire, participating only in domestic starts, and to win with a world record.... To me, these are superhumans. And they are really the future of our sport.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also noted the successes of Russian swimmers.

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"In a tense struggle you have shown real fighting qualities: cohesion, concentration, endurance, the highest skill. Having shown the best result in the combined relay, you rightfully became champions and set a new world record. And, of course, we added another gold medal to our national team's piggy bank. Way to go! I wish you bright sporting achievements and all the best," the telegram published on the Kremlin website reads.

The president also congratulated Ilya Borodin on his victory in the 400-meter complex.

"I congratulate you on your triumph at the World Championships - 2024. The victory in the 400 m complex swimming distance convincingly demonstrated your concentration, dedication and, of course, truly leadership character. This success has become not only your bright personal achievement, but also a significant contribution to strengthening the authority of our country in water sports," the congratulatory message reads.

The main start of next year will be the 2025 World Aquatics Championships, scheduled in Singapore from July 11 to August 3. And if some leaders of the world swimming did not come to Budapest, next summer our top swimmers will have to compete with all the strongest.