Russian swimming sensation Anton Chupkov has won the men’s 200m breaststroke final at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships in South Korea, setting a new world record in the process.
The 22-year-old Russian tends to get off to slow starts, and was as far back as eighth place at the first turn. However, the underwhelming beginning helped the swimmer to save energy for the final distance, which saw Chupkov destroy all of his rivals, including Australia’s Matthew Wilson, who had led for the majority of the race.
Chupkov's come-from-behind victory came in a time of two minutes and 06.12 seconds, setting a new world record for the event.
Russian swimmers produced stunning performances on Friday with Yulia Efimova and Evgeny Rylov winning gold medals in the women’s 200m breaststroke and men’s 200m backstroke finals, respectively.