The winner of the 2017 swimming world championship Alexander Krasnykh is just starting his sports career, but he already has behind him the awards of the largest international tournaments and participation in the Olympic Games. Inside the country, the athlete became the strongest freestyle at distances of 200 and 400 meters, winning national championships for two years in a row.
From the ring to the pool
The newly-minted world swimming star Alexander Krasnykh was born in Bugulma, in Tatarstan, into an intelligent family of a teacher and geophysicist. Sasha was a painful child, and at the age of seven, his parents sent him to the boxing section, where Marat Kotlubaev became his coach. Alexander won his first award in boxing competitions.
However, soon at the school where the Reds studied, recruitment was held in the swimming section, and the boy began to combine the ring with the pool. The first mentor of Alexander was Lilia Smirnova.
By the fourth grade it was not easy to combine such different kinds of sports, especially since you did not have to forget about studying. Alexander made a choice in favor of swimming and did not lose. Having reached a certain level in his development, he went into a group with Sergey Kuznetsov, who made him an international-class athlete.
Junior period
By 2013, the progress of Alexander Krasnykh in swimming was noticed at the national level, and the Tatar athlete began to be called up to the Russian team. By this time, he decided on his preferences and sports specialization, stopping at medium distances freestyle. Crown discipline became two hundred meters.
Alexander Krasnykh won the first international victory, swimming for which was a job, won at the junior level, winning silver at the European Championship in 2013. Then he was beaten by Briton James Guy, with whom he has more than once to compete in the future.
Adult wins
By 2014, Krasnykh Alexander Vladimirovich had already become a member of the national swimming team and went to his first adult tournament, which became the European Championship. As part of the team, he became the silver medalist of the continental championship in the 4 x 200 meter freestyle relay.
In the same year, Alexander defended the honor of the country at the world championship in swimming in short water. However, this time his participation was limited only to preliminary races, which was clearly dissatisfied with the young athlete. Nevertheless, this did not prevent him from receiving a well-deserved bronze award.
By 2015, Alexander Krasny's noticeable superiority at medium distances took shape in freestyle. At the Russian championship, he won at a distance of 200 meters and repeated this achievement on a less than four-hundred meter pitch.
Despite the presence of a strong competitor in the person of Danila Izotov, Krasnykh repeats the “golden” double next year, becoming the four-time champion of the country. Thus, he was selected to participate in the main four-year tournament, which was supposed to be held in Rio in 2016.
Failures and Triumphs
For a member of the Russian national swimming team, Alexander Krasnykh, the Olympics was not the best start. He could not qualify for the final of the 400 meter freestyle competition, taking the final 15th place. The results at the favorite 200-meter distance were more successful, but here he remained outside the top three winners, taking eighth place.
Alexander managed to rehabilitate himself at the World Short Course Championships, which took place four months after the Olympic Games. He won two individual awards and led the men's team to victory in the relay 4 x 200 meters.
Reds peaked in 2017. At the World Aquatics Championship, he set a personal record in the finals of the competition at a distance of 200 meters by the crawl. The athlete from Bugulma lost only to Sun Yan and Townley Haas, winning a bronze award.
It is noteworthy that he managed to get ahead of his longtime rival and world champion 2015, James Guy.
Now Alexander is only twenty-two years old, and he is ready for new sports feats and a successful performance at the next Olympic Games.