Polyakov Wins Bronze Medal at FINA World Championships
10/8/2004 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
After finishing fifth at the Athens Olympics in both the 100 and 200 breaststrokes Alabama sophomore Vlad Polyakov grabbed a medal on the second day of the 2004 FINA World Championships being held in Indianapolis this week.
Polyakov, representing his native Kazakhstan, shaved more than a second off his career best to grab the bronze medal, turning in a 59.07. Brendan Hansen of the United States took the gold while Australia's Brenton Rickard held off a charging Polyakov for the silver.
"It was a great swim for Vlad," Alabama head coach Eric McIlquham said. "He was fourth at the 50 and then jumped up to third at the 75 yard mark. He was closing in on second coming down the stretch and just turned in a fantastic effort."
The school record holder in both the 100 and 200 breaststrokes, he will compete in the preliminaries of the 200m breaststroke Saturday morning. As a freshman, Polyakov was second in the 200 breaststroke at the NCAA Championships.
"He's having a great meet," McIlquham said. "At this point we're just pointing him in the right direction and letting him go."
