World Championships, Day Eight Finals: Kliment Kolesnikov Blazes to Title in 50 Backstroke; Tie for Silver
There was no doubt who was the favorite to capture the gold medal in the 50-meter backstroke on the final night of the World Championships in Singapore. Through the years, Russia’s Kliment Kolesnikov has been a dominant force in the event, not only as the world-record holder, but the owner of nine of the top-11 times in history.
Now, he has a world title to his credit.
Blasting to the lead off the start, Kolesnikov overwhelmed the field and claimed the gold medal in the backstroke sprint in 23.68. That times was not far off his world record of 23.55 and was equal to the second-fastest performance of all-time. The Russian prevailed by nearly a half-second, an eternity in the 50-meter event. There was a tie for the silver medal behind Russia’s Pavel Samusenko and South Africa’s Pieter Coetze, who produced matching swims of 24.17.
This year marks Kolesnikov’s first appearance at the World Championships since the 2019 edition in Gwangju, due to a ban on Russian athletes for their country’s invasion of Ukraine. Kolesnikov was also locked out of the 2024 Olympic Games, but he has continued to excel in domestic competition.
Of the 12 sub-24 efforts in history, Kolesnikov has produced 10, with Americans Hunter Armstrong and Justin Ress each visiting that territory once. If he can maintain his form over the next few years, Kolesnikov will be the favorite when the 50 backstroke makes its debut on the Olympic program at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
“I tried not to look at the results board because I was a bit scared of looking,” Kolesnikov said of the finish. “It’s the last day. Everyone is nervous. Everyone wants to win. For me, especially as the world record holder. I tried to go as fast as I can, but at the same time, I didn’t see anyone on the sides, because it’s the backstroke. I just touched the board as fast as I can… I didn’t want to watch. I just tried to figure out by the sound (of) what’s happening around. Three seconds after, I checked the board and I got an unexpected result. I was expecting my time (to be) 23.9 or 23.8, and then you realize that you did 23.68 or something? I was like, ‘come on,’ 12 (hundredths) of a second to my personal best, and it was like, why couldn’t I go faster?”
For Coetze, his silver medal capped a 3-for-3 podium showing in the backstroke events. Earlier in the week, Coetze won gold in the 100 backstroke and silver in the 200 backstroke. In all three events, he established African records, and Coetze has set himself up in a favorable position for the three-year push toward the 2028 Olympic Games.
“I’m very proud,” Coetze said. “I’ve always been pretty even across all distances, even though I mainly train for the 200. So getting a medal across all three distances is amazing. If you told me this a week or two ago, I’d say I would be super happy with that…It would be awesome to keep doing all three of them, but I think I’ll probably continue training for the 200 and the 100 because it’s easier to come down (in distance) than to train for the 50. I think I’ll probably just stay with what I’m doing right now.”
