FLASH! Egor Kornev Blasts World Record in 50 Butterfly at World Cup Stop in Tashkent
The first two stops of the World Cup circuit have been good to Russia’s Egor Kornev, who established his second world record during Saturday action in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. One week after he tied the world record in the 100-meter freestyle, Kornev blasted a time of 21.28 in the 50 butterfly. That performance cut .04 off the previous world record, the 21.32 set by Switzerland’s Noe Ponti in 2024.
At the opening leg of the World Cup tour in Baku, Azerbaijan, Kornev clocked 44.84 in the 100 freestyle to equal the 2021 record of Australian Kyle Chalmers. This time around, the Russian didn’t have to share a record, and he moved to No. 1 all-time with a massive personal best. Kornev entered Saturday night with a top time of 21.64, which was good for the Russian record. But in the final in Tashkent, he dropped a huge .36 to knock Ponti off the event’s pedestal.
Kornev has proved himself as one of the world’s premier sprinters, particularly in the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle. But his sprint prowess clearly extends to the 50 butterfly and he has been impressive in the short-course pool in the 50 backstroke, too. En route to his world record in the 50 fly, Kornev split 9.60 for his outgoing lap and came home in 11.68. His overall time was well ahead of the 21.96s posted by Aussie Isaac Cooper and Singapore’s Teong Tzen Wei for joint runnerup honors.
The world record from Kornev follows the global mark set by South African Pieter Coetze in the 50 backstroke during Friday competition. Coetze went 22.09 in the 50 back for the first world record of his career.
The final stop of this year’s World Cup will be held next week in Kazakhstan, where Kornev figures to target additional world records.
