Clodagh Kilcoyne/REUTERS
The 24-year-old athlete won a silver medal in 1500 meters freestyle on July 31. A victory that puts the spotlight on this Russian, naturalized Frenchman and now member of the Olympic team. Portrait:
He competed in his second Olympic final wearing the same colors as the first, but with a different flag. Four years ago in Tokyo, Russian swimmer Anastasia Kirpichnikova, then 20, ran the 1500m freestyle for the white, blue and red of Russia. Four years later, on July 31, he won a silver medal at the Paris Games over the same distance. His first international long course award, this time for the French Blue, White, Red.
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A career affected by the war in Ukraine
The athlete, subject to the decree published in the Official Journal in April 2023, immediately won several French championship titles. Spotted for his potential, he then joined the National Police Olympic Team, which consisted of 25 athletes, 65 selected athletes and active police officers. Or a reservist, as is the case with Anastasia Kirpichnikova. A commitment that earned him the congratulations of Gerald Darmanin. “Proud to all Home Office agents,” he posted on X (formerly Twitter).
The swimmer from Asbest, a town of just under 70,000 people near Yekaterinburg in the Urals, already had many titles and medals won for her home country. In 2020, he won a silver medal at the European Championships in the 800m and 1500m freestyle. The following year, he broke the Russian record for these two short distances, of which he became the European champion, in the 400 m freestyle. And during that time, he won the title of world vice-champion in short swimming 800 m freestyle.
From Ural to Martigues
Therefore, in 2021, he will compete in the Tokyo Games, his first Olympic competition … and the last in which Russia officially participates. On February 24, 2022, Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine plunges Europe into war and reshuffles the playing cards of sports diplomacy. Russian athletes are gradually excluded from all competitions. The International Swimming Federation is not involved. In March, he announced the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian swimmers from the World Championships.
For Anastasia Kirpichnikova, this could mean the end of her career. However, the athlete has been training in France for four years with Lor Manaudou’s former coach Philippe Lucas, with whom she started working in Montpellier before following him to Martigues. While the International Olympic Committee, with the Paris Games in mind, is considering allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under a neutral flag, Anastasia Kirpichnikova prefers to apply for nationality with the support of the Russian Federation. “France is my second country, it is my home. I want to win many medals for France,” he declared in April 2023, shortly after his naturalization.
Choice:
And it comes at just the right time for a French swimming team looking for new talent. Young, promising in all disciplines, both in the pool and in open water, Anastasia Kirpichnikova represents a choice for years to come. “It has quite an interesting range of events,” emphasized the National Technical Director of the French Swimming Federation, Julien Isoulier, in an interview with our partners. RMC Sports . It will make us stronger especially in middle distance events and even relays. He is a very good swimmer who joined the French team. » The promise, perhaps, about the harvest of future medals.
Source: Le Figaro
