Russia's Five-Medal Friday in the Paris Pool
The Russian team collected five medals on Friday at the European Aquatics Championships in Paris, including golds for Evgeniya Chikunova in the 200 metres breaststroke and for the mixed 4x100 metres freestyle relay quartet of Egor Kornev, Ivan Girev, Daria Klepikova and Kira Manokhina. The results lifted Russia into third place in the overall medal table.
Chikunova, the 21-year-old world record holder, again rode a patient opening half before accelerating in the 200m breaststroke final. Britain's Angharad Evans led early while swimming close to world-record pace, but Chikunova finished in 2:19.32 to win by nearly two seconds. Ireland's Mona McSharry took bronze more than three seconds behind.
In the mixed 4x100 freestyle relay, Russia never surrendered the lead. Kornev, Girev and Klepikova produced strong opening legs before 16-year-old Manokhina held off the Netherlands' Marrit Steenbergen at the finish. The Dutch and Italian teams joined Russia on the podium.
The day's other Russian medals came from Klepikova, who took bronze in the 100m butterfly, and from Kliment Kolesnikov and Pavel Samusenko, who both reached the podium after Czech Miroslav Knedla beat them by one and three hundredths of a second respectively. Ksenia Misharina was fifth in the 1500m freestyle, won by Simone Quadarella. Russia now has nine golds, eight silvers and nine bronzes overall; in swimming-only scoring it is second behind Great Britain.
Why Chikunova and the Mixed Relay Put Russia Back in the Medal Hunt
Chikunova's second half decided the marquee final
Chikunova let Evans set the early pace, then produced a final 50 metres strong enough that she said she could not remember swimming it. The near two-second gap to a swimmer who started the season as Europe's fastest in the event shows her finishing speed remains the decisive weapon at this level.
The relay was a rebound from mixed medley disappointment
Russian swimmers had expected more than bronze in the mixed medley relay, so the 4x100 freestyle gold carried extra weight. Kornev, Girev and Klepikova kept Russia in front on the first three legs, and Manokhina's closing hold against Steenbergen protected a lead built throughout the race.
Tight margins shape the medal table
Kolesnikov's one-hundredth-of-a-second loss and Samusenko's three-hundredths defeat show how small the difference was between first and the rest. Russia's overall third place behind Italy and Britain, and second in the swimming-only table, leaves the team in a stronger position heading into the remainder of the championships.
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