Evgenii Somov, Only Russian Swimmers at Olympics, is Unique for More than AIN Status
Evgenii Somov hadn’t had much time to take it all in, not just in a hectic July but for all of phase two of his swimming career.
The Russian international didn’t have his eyes set on trying to make a first Olympics in his mid-20s when he returned to the pool last fall after 18 months off. He didn’t bank on an Olympic spot materializing, Russian sporting entities still banned internationally for the country’s instigation of war in Ukraine and athletes from it and Belarus only permitted to appear as Independent Neutral Athletes.
The St. Petersburg native was still unsure until the week of his scheduled departure from California to Paris if his visa paperwork could clear in time. Then once at the Paris La Defense Arena, he was straight into it, making a semifinal of the men’s 100 breaststroke on the meet’s first day.
Evgenii Somov of the Individual Neutral in the men’s 100 breast; Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
“To be honest, I didn’t really expect anything, because I was so busy, getting the status and then getting a visa,” Somov said. “Pretty much still to the last day, I wasn’t even sure that I’m going. … It’s just like it was everything was happening in the very last moment.”
The only Russian swimmer at the Paris Olympics, Somov has cut an unorthodox path there, even before considering the geopolitical ramifications. From Louisville to California, around an 18-month sabbatical from the sport, Somov is found a way to start setting best times again, fulfilling his Olympic dream along the way.
Somov figured he was done with swimming after five years at Louisville, around the COVID-19 pandemic. He’d competed in his last Russian national meet in 2021 in Kazan and wrapped up his extended Cardinals career at NCAAs in the spring of 2022, twice finishing seventh in the 100-yard breaststroke and getting as high as fourth.
But living in California and staying in shape outside of the water, Somov decided to give it one more go in the fall of 2023. With little training, he went 53.18 in the 100 breast and 20.38 in the 50 free at a short-course yards sectional in Livermore. At Speedo Sectionals in Huntington Beach in December, he was faster in the 100 breast (51.12) than at his last NCAAs (51.52, for 11th). Sectionals in Marin in March brought him back to the long-course pool, and at May’s Atlanta Classic, he went 58.72 to set the Russian record in the event, at place where Russian records aren’t normally set, to say the least.
Much of that success came after the Dec. 8 decision by the International Olympic Committee to permit Russian and Belorussian athletes under the AIN flag. Once Somov got his A cut in May, he applied for the status, which was granted in late June.
The decision wasn’t something he discussed much with his family. His mother still lives in St. Petersburg, as does his extended family, and worry about the potential political fallout didn’t deter his seeking AIN status. He’s one of four swimmers competing as Independent Neutral Athletes, the other three from Belarus.
Being without a team is a little bit of an adjustment. From Louisville, he’s used to being surrounded by swimmers from a variety of nations – the Cardinals have eight Olympians in the pool representing six countries. Wednesday night, he was rooting on fellow Russia native Anastasiia Kirpichnikova, who competed under the Russian Olympic Committee flag at the Tokyo Olympics and has since changed national affiliation to France, for which she won a silver medal in the 1,500 free.
It’s not exactly the same as a having a team behind you, right down to how plum a spot you are entitled to in the Olympic Village. But Somov is doing just fine without.
“If you ask, would I want to have a team here? Yes, obviously. Hell yeah,” he said. “I would like to live in the big building with all of my athletes. Be able to network with the top people in the world from all of the sports? I’m here by myself. Not by myself. There’s my coach, my friends. So I don’t feel like I’m by myself here.”
Somov, judging by the chest full of tattoos and the facial hair that wouldn’t be out of place in a stage show of The Three Musketeers, is a bit of a non-conformist. It applies for his journey, where he’s been training largely without any other senior swimmers at Albany Armada Aquatics in California. He coaches there on the side, and he’s got mostly 14- and 15-year-olds with him in the pool. (“Hey, they’re still sparring partners,” he contends.)
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Somov certainly proved he belonged in the pool in Paris. He went 59.83 to finish 13th in prelims of the 100 breast on Saturday, getting a spot in the semifinals. He was 13th there, bowing out with a time of 1:00.00. He’d raised his expectations enough on the way there as to be disappointed not to get a finals swim.
The absence of a team, though, doesn’t diminish the experience in Somov’s eyes. He’s swimming for something more than himself. It’s not a nation, per exactly, but it’s a tribe that has helped him get there.
“I always feel like I’m swimming for myself, for my friends, for my family, for the people who support me,” he said. “And the people who support me, they support me all over the place, the United States, back home, here, and there and there. So I don’t really feel like I’m alone here.”
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