Speedo Performance of the Week: Dmitriy Balandin’s 200 Breast At Asian Games
Photo by Leo Mason – USA Today Sports
PHOENIX, Arizona, September 23. THE Asian Games is producing some exciting results so far in South Korea, but none more impressive than what we saw less than 24 hours ago. Dmitriy Balandin, just 19 years old, won the gold medal in the 200 breast, dropping six seconds off his lifetime best with a 2:07.67.
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Balandin hails from Kazakhstan, a country which has a good history of breaststroke. Vladislav Polyakov was born in Kazakhstan and swam in three Olympics while winning NCAA titles for Alabama. Polyakov is now an assistant coach at the University of Louisville, and I’m sure he was cheering loudly for his countryman.
Balandin took down Japan’s breaststroke duo that had been heavily favored to win the 200 breast, but with many of the Japanese unable to swim their fastest times of the year, it opened the door. Balandin burst right through that door in the third 50 of the race, taking the lead from Yasuhiro Koseki and surging to the finish. Balandin is now the third-fastest in the world this year, the ninth-fastest performer in history and has posted the 11th-fastest performance in history.
It’s safe to say this is a man that everyone will be watching as we start to look forward to next year’s world championships in Russia, and the Rio Olympics in 2016. For now, we want to congratulate Dmitriy Balandin on winning the Speedo Performance of the Week. I’m Jeff Commings. Thanks for watching.