Borodin can defeat Marchand and break the world record at the World Cup in Budapest, believes Pankratov

Double Olympic champion Denis Pankratov believes he is European champion Ilya Borodin can get ahead of the French Leona Marchand and become a world record holder.

Borodin won the 400m individual medley at the Russian Short Course Swimming Championships in St. Petersburg with the world’s best result of the season. The Russian Championship is a qualification to participate in the World Championships in December in Budapest.

— It is difficult to say whether Ilya is at the top of his form or not. In theory, no one was counting on the World Cup. And whether that was the peak of his form or whether he can swim faster now, we don’t know. But it’s the best result of the season in the world.

“And that’s the case when the best result of the season in the world and a very fast result coincide.

“Here’s three seconds to the long distance world record.” And if Ilya goes to the World Championships and he is ready to swim faster than at the Russian Championships, this is an almost guaranteed victory even over Leon Marchand, it could even be a world record. I completely agree and am curious to see how this all plays out.

— Competition has intensified and this has allowed Ilya to take another step forward?

— He never swam alone, Max Stupin was always there. But over the last two seasons, when the international life of our athletes stopped, many guys had a misunderstanding – why, and the result slowed down a little. Now he has seen enough of Léon Marchand. They are the same age; being a junior, I was always taller than Marchand. Now he really wants to compete. Now there is a chance, I can’t imagine how much enthusiasm there is in the team about this,” Pankratov told .

The tournament in St. Petersburg will end on November 26.

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