Evgeny Rylov

1.1. Childhood and Early Life

Rylov was born on September 23, 1996, in Novotroitsk, Orenburg Oblast, Russia. His father, Mikhail Rylov, was a former professional footballer who later became a coach. In his childhood, Evgeny initially tried playing football, following in his father's footsteps, but ultimately chose to pursue swimming instead. He is 6.1 ft ^{(1.85 m)} tall and weighs 172 lb ^{(78 kg)}.

1.2. Police Service and Career Transition

Before becoming a full-time professional swimmer, Rylov served as a staff police sergeant with the Moscow Oblast Police in the town district of Lobnya. He represented the Moscow Oblast region in various Russian swimming competitions. He trains under coach Andrey Shishin. His transition from police service to a dedicated swimming career marked a significant shift, allowing him to focus entirely on his athletic pursuits and achieve international prominence.

2.1. Youth Olympics and Early International Competitions

Rylov first gained international recognition at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China. He secured a total of four medals at the event, including three gold and one silver, and broke two world junior records. In the 100 metre backstroke, he shared the gold medal with Simone Sabbioni of Italy, both finishing in 54.24 seconds. On August 20, he set a new world junior record with a time of 25.09 seconds to win his second gold medal in the 50 metre backstroke, out-touching Apostolos Christou of Greece by 0.35 seconds. Less than an hour later, Rylov, alongside teammates Anton Chupkov, Aleksandr Sadovnikov, and Filipp Shopin, won the 4×100 metre medley relay title in a world junior record-breaking time of 3:38.02. On the final night of the Games, he added a silver medal in the 200 metre backstroke, finishing in 1:57.08, just 0.14 seconds behind Li Guangyuan of China. He also contributed to fourth-place finishes in the 4×100 metre mixed freestyle relay (3:32.15) and the 4×100 metre freestyle relay (3:25.01).

His senior international debut came at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, Russia. He earned his first senior international medal, a bronze, in the 200 metre backstroke with a Russian record time of 1:54.60. Earlier in the championships, he placed seventh in the 100 metre backstroke final with a time of 53.23 seconds. He also helped the Russian team to a fifth-place finish in the 4×100 metre medley relay, swimming the backstroke leg in 53.21 seconds.

2.2. Olympic Medal Achievements

Rylov has achieved significant success at the Olympic Games, culminating in multiple gold medals.

At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Rylov won a bronze medal in the 200 metre backstroke, setting a new European record with a time of 1:53.97. He had previously broken this record at the Russian Championships in April 2016 with a time of 1:54.21. In the 100 metre backstroke, he finished sixth in the final with a time of 52.74 seconds. He also contributed to a fourth-place finish in the 4×100 metre medley relay, swimming the backstroke leg in 52.90 seconds.

At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rylov achieved a historic double gold. He won the gold medal in the 100 metre backstroke with a time of 51.98 seconds, setting a new European record. He then followed this with another gold medal in the 200 metre backstroke, setting an Olympic record with a time of 1:53.27. These victories made him Russia's first indoor Olympic swimming champion in 25 years. He also earned a silver medal as part of the 4×200 metre freestyle relay team, swimming the third leg in 1:45.26. Additionally, he helped secure a fourth-place finish in the 4×100 metre medley relay (3:29.22) and a seventh-place finish in the 4×100 metre mixed medley relay (3:42.45), swimming the backstroke leg in both finals. Following his performance, a poll conducted by Stoloto named Evgeny Rylov the best Russian athlete of the 2020 Summer Olympics.

2.3. World Championships Achievements

Rylov has consistently performed at the FINA World Aquatics Championships, securing multiple medals in both long course and short course events.

At the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Rylov won the gold medal in the 200 metre backstroke, breaking his own European record with a time of 1:53.61. He defeated the 2016 Olympic champion, Ryan Murphy of the United States, by 0.60 seconds. This marked the first long course world championships gold medal won by a Russian male swimmer in an individual event since 2003. On the final day of competition, he contributed to a bronze medal win in the 4×100 metre medley relay, swimming the backstroke leg in 52.89 seconds and helping set a new Russian record of 3:29.76.

At the 2018 World Short Course Swimming Championships in Hangzhou, China, Rylov had a highly successful campaign, winning three gold, two silver, and two bronze medals.

• On the first day, he won a silver medal in the 4×100 metre freestyle relay, having swum the lead-off leg in 46.09 seconds in the prelims.
• On the second day, he earned a bronze medal in the 4×50 metre mixed freestyle relay, contributing a lead-off split of 21.21 seconds in the heats.
• The following day, he won a bronze medal in the 4×50 metre mixed medley relay, swimming the backstroke leg in 23.18 seconds in the heats.
• On day four, Rylov anchored the 4×50 metre freestyle relay to a silver medal victory in a new Russian record time of 1:22.22, with his anchor split being 20.37 seconds. Later in the same session, he won a gold medal in the 50 metre backstroke with a Russian record time of 22.58 seconds, making him the second-fastest performer in the event all-time.
• On day five, he swam the fastest freestyle leg in the final of the 4×50 metre medley relay with a time of 20.22 seconds, securing a gold medal for his team with a final relay time of 1:30.54.
• On the sixth and final day, he won his third gold medal in the 200 metre backstroke with a time of 1:47.02, finishing ahead of Ryan Murphy.

At the 2019 World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, Rylov defended his World Championships title in the 200 metre backstroke. He also won three silver medals: in the 50 metre backstroke (24.49 seconds, 0.06 seconds behind gold medalist Zane Waddell), the 100 metre backstroke (52.67 seconds, 0.24 seconds behind gold medalist Xu Jiayu), and the 4×100 metre freestyle relay, where he anchored the relay with a 47.02-second split, contributing to a silver medal-winning finish in 3:09.97. With his three individual medals, he became the first male swimmer to win a medal in all three backstroke distances at a single World Aquatics Championships. He also swam the backstroke leg of the 4×100 metre mixed medley relay in the final with a split of 51.97 seconds, helping achieve a fourth-place finish in a Russian record time of 3:40.78. As part of the 4×100 metre medley relay, he swam the fastest backstroke leg in the final with a 52.57-second split, contributing to a bronze medal win in a Russian record time of 3:28.81.

2.4. European Championships Achievements

Rylov has also achieved considerable success at the LEN European Aquatics Championships in both long course and short course pools.

At the 2018 European Aquatics Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, Rylov won two gold and two silver medals. He won gold in the 200 metre backstroke with a European and Championships record time of 1:53.36. He also won gold in the 4×100 metre freestyle relay, leading off the relay in 48.62 seconds to help the team finish first in 3:12.23. He secured a silver medal in the 100 metre backstroke with a time of 52.74 seconds, finishing behind fellow Russian Kliment Kolesnikov. In the 4×100 metre medley relay, he swam in the preliminary heats, contributing to a silver medal for the team.

At the 2020 European Aquatics Championships, held in Budapest, Hungary in May 2021, Rylov continued his success. He won a gold medal in the 4×100 metre freestyle relay, having swum the anchor leg in the prelims. He also won a bronze medal in the 4×200 metre mixed freestyle relay for his efforts in the preliminary heats. In the 100 metre backstroke, he placed eighth in the final with a time of 53.51 seconds. He won another gold medal and the European title in the 200 metre backstroke with a time of 1:54.46. On the final day, he earned a silver medal for his preliminary efforts in the 4×100 metre medley relay.

In November 2021, at the 2021 European Short Course Swimming Championships in Kazan, Rylov won a bronze medal in the 4×50 metre freestyle relay, swimming the third leg in 20.99 seconds. He also placed 20th in the preliminary heats of the 50 metre freestyle (21.61 seconds) and fourth in the preliminary heats of the 100 metre backstroke (50.55 seconds), but did not advance to the semifinals in the latter due to the two-swimmer-per-country rule. He ranked fourth in the semifinals of the 200 metre backstroke (1:51.73) but withdrew from the final.

2.5. Other Competitions and League Participation

Beyond major championships, Rylov has also competed in and achieved success at other notable events, including the International Swimming League (ISL) and Russian National Championships.

At the Russian Championships, Rylov has consistently set new national and European records. In April 2017, he lowered his own 200 metre backstroke European record for the third time with a time of 1:53.81, and tied the Russian record in the 50 metre backstroke with a time of 24.52 seconds. In April 2021, he set a new 100 metre backstroke Russian record with a time of 52.12 seconds, and three days later, set a new 200 metre backstroke European record with a time of 1:53.23. At the 2023 Russian National Swimming Championships in April, he won the gold medal in the 200 metre backstroke (1:55.50), silver in the 100 metre backstroke (53.21 seconds), and bronze in the 50 metre backstroke (24.66 seconds).

In the Autumn of 2019, Rylov was a member of the inaugural International Swimming League (ISL), swimming for the Energy Standard International Swim Club, which won the team title in Las Vegas, Nevada, in December. He won the 100 metre backstroke and 200 metre backstroke events at both the Budapest and London matches, and the 100 metre backstroke in Naples. In 2021, he was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 9th match in the regular season of ISL Season 3.

In November 2022, Rylov participated in the multi-country and multi-sport 2022 Russian Solidarity Games, with swimming competition held in Kazan. He won the bronze medal in the 100 metre backstroke with a time of 50.03 seconds. Two days later, he placed fourth in the 50 metre freestyle (21.41 seconds) and won the bronze medal in the 50 metre backstroke (23.16 seconds). On the final day, he won a gold medal in the 200 metre backstroke, finishing in 1:50.32.

3.1. Long Course Metres (50m pool)

Rylov holds or has held multiple European and Russian national records in long course events.

His progression of long course records includes:

• 200 m backstroke:**
  • Set a Russian record of 1:54.60 at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships.
  • Broke the European record with 1:54.21 at the 2016 Russian Championships.
  • Further lowered his European record to 1:53.97 at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
  • Improved his European record to 1:53.81 at the 2017 Russian Championships.
  • Set a new European record of 1:53.61 at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships.
  • Achieved another European record of 1:53.36 at the 2018 European Aquatics Championships.
  • Set his current European and Russian record of 1:53.23 at the 2021 Russian Championships.
• 50 m backstroke:** Set a Russian record of 24.52 seconds at the 2017 Russian Championships.
• 100 m backstroke:**
  • Set a Russian record of 52.44 seconds in the semifinals of the 2019 World Aquatics Championships.
  • Set his current European and Russian record of 51.98 seconds at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
• 4×100 m medley relay:** Set a Russian record of 3:29.76 at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships, later improved to 3:28.81 at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships (current).
• 4×100 m mixed medley relay:** Set a Russian record of 3:40.78 at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships (current).

3.2. Short Course Metres (25m pool)

Rylov has also achieved notable personal bests and records in short course events.

His short course records include:

• 4×50 m freestyle relay:** Set a Russian record of 1:22.22 at the 2018 World Short Course Championships (current).
• 50 m backstroke:** Set a Russian record of 22.58 seconds at the 2018 World Short Course Championships.