Photo Courtesy: Gian Mattia Dalberto/Lapresse
Guest contribution by Maria Dobysheva
KAZAN – As the Russian Short Course Nationals are in full swing in Kazan, the big question on everyone’s mind is where is Vlad Morozov? Morozov missed the FINA World Cup, including the home meet in Moscow, and has not been seen in Kazan this week, while his teammates are loading up on world top 10 times in every session.
So, where is Vlad, and is he going to swim at the FINA World Short Course Championships in December? Also, where is his Trojan Swim Club teammate and Olympic medalist Nikita Lobintsev?
There’s nothing to be worried about according to Morozov’s latest interviews in the Russian press. He, along with Lobintsev, are currently training hard in Los Angeles with coaches Dave Salo and Jon Urbanchek. Morozov already qualified for short course Worlds, so there’s little reason for him to compete here in Kazan this week. After being unpleased with his performance at the European Championships where he won only one gold medal (50 back), and couldn’t even make semifinals in his main events of the 50 and 100 free, Morozov had to refocus.
Morozov is starting a new tough training cycle to focus on short course Worlds, and opted out of the FINA World Cup where he would have likely made a ton of money competing with versatile Chad le Clos, He finished second overall during the 2013 edition, and could have done the same this year as the sprint freestyles were wide open for someone to dominate them.
Morozov will still have some work to do when he returns as the rest of Russia is catching up. Oleg Tikhobaev, Evgeny Sedov and Sergey Fesikov just put on a show in the 50 free at Russian Short Course Nationals. The question is what time Morozov is posting in training in the U.S. Can he overcome the 21.07 from Tikhobaev, or even the 20.97 Tikhobaev clocked during semis, to stand behind only Cesar Cielo’s world-leading 20.68? Morozov did top the world rankings in 2012 (20.55) and 2013 (20.59), so he’s likely going to be in good form again this time around.
The other primary question surrounding Morozov right now is what events he is planning on swimming at Worlds. He’s likely to compete in the 50 and 100 freestyle, but he has plenty of other events he can challenge in for a medal including the sprint backstroke and breaststroke events, as well as a spot on all of Russia’s relays.
Lobintsev, however, is out for short course Worlds. He, along with another relay teammate Andrey Grechin, have already announced that they are skipping the meet to focus on next year’s World Trials and home World Championships in Kazan.
What olympic swimmer outside of Australia and Japan doesn’t train in the US?