2026 RUSSIAN SHORT COURSE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
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- Friday, November 6th – Wednesday, November 11th
- Nevskaya Volna Water Sports Center, St. Petersburg, Russia
- SCM (25m)
- Meet Central
The 2026 Russian Short Course National Championships are on the horizon, with the six-day competition kicking off Friday, November 6th.
Not only are national titles on the line, but swimmers will also be vying for slots on the country’s roster for this December’s Short Course World Championships.
Russia’s big guns are all expected to be in attendance, including Kliment Kolesnikov, Evgenia Chikunova, Egor Kornev, Daria Klepikova, Kirill Prigoda, Ilya Borodin, Pavel Samusenko, Andrei Minakov and Daria Trofimova.
22-year-old Kornev has been on a particularly hot streak coming off of the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup ‘Silk Road’ circuit.
The versatile ace finished second behind South Africa’s World Record holder Pieter Coetze in the overall point rankings on the men’s side.
Throughout the three stops, Kornev played cat-and-mouse with Australian World Record holder and Olympic champion Cameron McEvoy, with the pair dueling in the 50m and 100m freestyle events.
McEvoy won the splash n’ dash in Baku, Tashkent and Astana, but the duo split the 100m free victories, with Kornev winning Baku, the pair actually tying for gold in Tashkent before McEvoy topped the podium once again in Astana.
McEvoy also tried the 200m freestyle on for size on the circuit, trying out different racing strategies as the Aussie has only just begun training for the longer event.
Following in McEvoy’s footsteps, Kornev has entered the 200m free at these Russian Nationals, in addition to the 50m free, 100m free, 50m fly, 100m fly and 100m IM.
Kornev’s resume is concise when it comes to the SCM 200 free event, with his career carrying a lifetime best of 1:46.83 from November 2022. For perspective, McEvoy’s lifetime best sits at the 1:40.80 he put on the books back in 2015, with his World Cup appearances including a time of 1:45.74 this month.
Additional Notable Entries
- Andrei Minakov – 100m free, 50m/100m/200m fly
- Grigorii Vekovishchev – 100m free, 400m free, 50m fly
- Ilya Borodin – 400m free, 200m breast, 200m/400m IM
- Ivan Girev – 50m/100m/200m free, 200m IM
- Kirill Prigoda – 50m/100m/200m breast
- Kliment Kolesnikov – 50m/100m back
- Miron Lifintsev – 50m/100m back
- Pavel Samusenko – 50m free, 50m/100m/200m back
- Alina Gaifutdinova – 50m/100m free, 50m/100m back
- Daria Klepikova – 50m/100m free, 50m/100m fly
- Evgenia Chikunova – 50m/100m/200m breast
- Nika Godun – 50m/100m breast
- Yuliya Efimova – 50m/100m/200m breast
- Vitalina Simonova – 100m/200m breast
