russian olympic medalists Vladimir Morozov In a recent interview with Match TV, he announced that he will retire from professional swimming at the age of 31.
The former world record holder said: “I really wanted to swim at least to Paris,” but “factors beyond my control intervened.”
Morozov has not competed since the 2021 Short Course Championships, where he finished 17th in the 50m freestyle (21.54 points) and helped set a Russian tournament record in the 200m medley relay. Following the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russian and Belarusian swimmers were banned from international competitions months later. Morozov recently suggested that World Aquatics had given him a neutral position, but said it was now “a little late”.
“I always had the goal of swimming before the Los Angeles Olympics,” Morozov said. “When you're young you always feel like this happens when you get results. But first there was the coronavirus, then there were other events that prevented our athletes from participating. And then at the age… It became clear that everything was fine and I had to call it a day. I wanted to swim at least to Paris, but my results in 2020 and 2021 were average and at my usual level of performance. Well, it wasn't just my decision, there were factors outside of my control that intervened.”
Morozov immigrated to Los Angeles from Siberia at the age of 14 and made a name for himself at Torrance High School. The 6-foot-1 sprint specialist set national high school records in the SCY 50 free (19.43) and 100 free (42.87) as a senior.
Morozov stayed nearby for his collegiate career at the University of Southern California, where he broke school records in the 50 free and 100 free as a freshman en route to Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors. He finished second to Cal in the 50 free. Nathan Adrian He won the 2011 Pac-10 Championship and won the Trojans' first 50 free crown the following season since 1996. As a junior at the 2013 NCAA Championships, Morozov swept national titles in the 50 free and 100 free, while also clocking 17.86 seconds in the third leg of USC's 200 free and 50 free. She became the first swimmer to record a split of under 18 seconds. relay. He turned professional after the tournament and waived his final year of collegiate eligibility.
At the 2012 London Olympics, Morozov scored 47.85 points in the third leg of Russia's 400-meter free relay, helping the quartet win the bronze medal in 3:11.41. He followed up that performance later that year by winning the SCM Olympic champion in his 50 free (20.55 points) and 100 free (45.65 points), winning his first world title. Florent Manadou In the middle. At the 2013 World Championships, Morozov took second place behind the world record holder in the 50m free (21.47). Cesar Cielo — his only individual LCM world medal.
Morozov's career was not without controversy. His name was included in the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) report on the disappearance of positive cases, but the ban was later lifted in time for him to compete at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and he played at the Estadio Aquatico. The Russians were booed by the Olympic crowd. In the 400m free relay, he finished in 4th place, missing out on the podium.
Morozov set his first world record at the 2016 World Cup in Chartres, France, shortly after the 2016 Rio Olympics, erasing it with a time of 50.60 seconds and 100 IM. Markus Daibler50.66 standard from the book. He ran his personal best of 50.30 seconds the following week at the World Cup destination in Berlin, cutting his record by a tenth. Morozov ended the year with seven medals (five gold) at the 2016 Short Course World Championships.
Morozov lowered his 100 IM world record to 50.26 during the 2018 World Cup series, breaking it twice in Eindhoven in September and Tokyo in November. The record will be maintained for two years, caleb dressel They broke it during the 2020 ISL season. Morozov spent the 2019 season with Team Iron and joined the Tokyo Frog Kings in 2020.
Although he narrowly missed out on the LCM 50 free podium (21.53 seconds) at the 2019 World Championships, he finished 16th at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. He felt “embarrassed” by his performance in Tokyo and was aiming to bounce back at this summer's Paris Olympics, but it's difficult to stay in top racing shape without the ability to compete internationally. I felt that.
“There was no longer any chance to compete internationally,” Morozov said. “For me, living in America, after three Olympic Games and multiple World Championships, the idea of flying to Russia and competing only at this level just doesn't appeal to me. did.”
Morozov currently coaches dozens of swimmers and triathletes in the Los Angeles area. Looking back, he said he has no regrets about his career. Except for maybe one thing.
“Today I have no sadness or regrets, because I have had such a long career and have achieved so much at international level in the last 10 years,” Morozov said. “In a career this long, you never know what's going to happen, but this is what happened. smile ). No regrets. The only thing is, probably, when I was 24-25 years old, it was worth going to training camps of different coaches in different countries, such as Australia and Europe, to gain experience and knowledge. Many leaders in world swimming are currently doing just that. I didn't do that. I flew from Dave Salo to Viktor Borisovich Avdiyenko and the knowledge I gained from them was maximum. I needed to expand my knowledge about swimming. I regret that I should have consulted more coaches. ”
Morozov finishes his career with 109 World Cup wins, third all-time. Katinka Hossu and chad le clos.
