Saturday Review of Swimming: World records for Peaty and Kolesnikov

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There were two world records in Swimming yesterday, two golds for Sarah Sjoestroem (SWE) and Russian swimmers on the podium in five of the six finals of the Glasgow 2018 European Championships swimming competition at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre.

Adam Peaty (GBR) took another 0.13 seconds off his own world record when he swam 57.00 seconds to win the men's 100m breaststroke ahead of his team-mate James Wilby (GBR).

It was the fourth time Peaty has lowered the record in this event, while WILBY swam a personal best of 58.54 for silver and Anton Chupkov (RUS) took third.

The 100m breaststroke record stood at 58.46 before Peaty first smashed it in 2015, and he has long been planning to take it below 57. He came within one hundredth of a second of that ambition with a very strong finish.

"It was a great race, great support from Scotland, Britain, the rest of Europe for that matter,” said  Peaty.

“The European championships have a very close place in my heart because it is where it all started, (where I swam) my first world record in the 50m and it’s almost a perfect environment to perform.”

World record breaker Kliment Kolesnikov

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The day's other world record breaker was Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS) in the men’s 50m backstroke. He swam 24.00 to finally better the 24.04 world best set by Britain’s Liam Tancock nine years and two days ago.

Russia also won two silvers, through Svetlana Chimrova in the women’s 100m butterfly and in the 200m mixed team freestyle relay, a new event to international swimming. And Anna Egorova added a second Russian bronze to Chupkov's in the women’s 800m freestyle, won by Simona Quadrella (ITA).

Sjoestroem (pictured top) won her first European gold, in the 100m butterfly, back in 2008 at the age of 14. She won the same event again 10 years later on Saturday and followed it by clinching the 50m freestyle to take her European gold haul to 12.

Sjoestroem, the Olympic 100m butterfly champion and seven-time world champion, said: “To be able to recharge after that [butterfly victory] and win the 50m freestyle, which is probably the hardest event to win here, I am very, very happy about that.”

Sjoestroem took the butterfly gold by a commanding 1.17 seconds but was only a hundredth of a second clear in the freestyle, pipping her great rival, Olympic champion Pernille Blume (DEN).

The Russians have two more gold medal chances in Sunday’s finals. Yuliya Efimova (RUS) qualified fastest for the women’s 100m breaststroke and Vladislav Grinev (RUS) was third fastest in the men’s 100m freestyle.