“We can expect anything, even world records.” Pankratov – about swimming at the BRICS Games

Vice President of the Russian Swimming Federation, two-time Olympic champion Denis Pankratov, told that at the swimming tournament held as part of the BRICS Games, one can expect anything, including records of the world.

The BRICS Games will be held from October 18 to 21. In total, around 450 athletes will participate in the competition.

—Such competitions are certainly necessary. Especially in a context of freezing international life. Yes, such competitions do not constitute a major breakthrough, but they constitute a small gap to be felt at the international level.

The composition of our swim team is obviously not optimal. But Zhenya Chikunova certainly strengthens this team. You can expect anything, even world records.

But we are now in October and our athletes are far from being in the best condition. They only recently started training and haven’t had time to get into optimal shape. The main competitions, such as the national championship, are scheduled for the second half of November. But we have a young and interesting team. They can create anything.

— So the BRICS Games can be considered as one of the stages of preparation for the main competitions?

“I don’t think that can be considered preparation.” Yes, the guys who went there included this tournament in their preparation plan. But he won’t prove or show anything. The guys simply found a place in their schedule to fulfill a certain political order and at the same time participate in an international swimming tournament,” Pankratov told .

Russia at the Games in South Africa will be represented by 34 athletes in the six sports represented on the program: swimming, tennis, badminton, volleyball (discipline – beach volleyball), table tennis, sports for people with musculoskeletal disabilities skeletal (disciplines – table tennis). and wheelchair tennis).