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Kristian
GKOLOMEEV |
Sport |
Swimming |
NOC |
Greece
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Gender | Men |
Born | 04 Jul 1993
in Velingrad, BUL |
Height | 2.02 m |
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Sport Specific Information |
Why this sport? |
He would go to the pool with his father, who was a competitive swimmer. "At age 12, I started taking swimming more seriously. At age 17, I realised I could do a lot of things and I decided I didn't want to just follow a sport – I wanted to build a career in it. So I did." |
When and where did you begin this sport? |
He began swimming at age five. "I grew up in Heraklion, Crete [Greece]. I was training in Heraklion but it was really for a hobby. After my father passed away, I moved to Athens [Greece] with my uncle and my aunt, and I really launched my swimming career over there." |
Further Personal Information |
Residence |
San Diego, CA, USA |
Sport Specific Information |
Club / Team |
Team Elite Aquatics [USA] / Ethnikos Piraeus [GRE]: |
Further Personal Information |
Higher education |
Exercise Science - University of Alabama: Tuscaloosa, AL, USA |
General Interest |
Famous relatives |
His father Tsvetan represented Bulgaria in swimming at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow and the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. (cw.us.edu, 29 Mar 2015; SportsDeskOnline, 18 Nov 2020) |
Ambitions |
To win a medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. (cnn.gr, 01 Aug 2021) |
Awards and honours |
He received a special award from the Greek Olympic Committee for his contribution to the sport for 2019. (livemedianews.gr, 03 Feb 2020)
While competing at the University of Alabama in the United States of America, he was named the 2014/15 Southeastern Conference [SEC] Male Swimmer of the Year. He was also voted the Most Outstanding Swimmer at the University of Alabama for the 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons. (swimswam.com, 20 Apr 2015, 24 Apr 2016; rolltide.com, 14 Apr 2015) |
Sport Specific Information |
Name of coach |
David Marsh [Team Elite Aquatics], USA; Akis Oikonomou, GRE |
Further Personal Information |
Occupation |
Athlete |
Languages |
English, Greek |
General Interest |
Sporting philosophy / motto |
"Attitude, character, commitment." (tuscaloosanews.com, 10 Apr 2015) |
Other information |
LIVING ABROAD He was born in Bulgaria and grew up in Crete, Greece. He was talent-spotted by the University of Alabama coaches at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and moved to the United States of America to attend the university where he competed during the 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16 collegiate seasons. He later moved to San Diego, CA, United States of America, where he trained ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. "It's a lot different in San Diego than training in Greece. In America, you have a group of 20 to 25 people to train with every day, and that is really important. Everybody that you train with has the same goals, and that is to achieve something big. We have a really good team right here and everybody is pushing each other. We have great facilities and great weather." (cw.us.edu, 29 Mar 2015; rolltide.com, 31 Oct 2014, 01 Jan 2016; swimswam.com, 01 Jul 2019; documentonews.gr, 08 Aug 2019; usa.greekreporter.com, 05 Apr 2020)
FAMILY TRIBUTE He says he swims in honour of his late father, and at the end of races kisses his hand and points to the sky. After his mother's death from complications through childbirth, his father moved his sons to Crete, Greece, and worked as a swimming trainer before Kristian moved to Athens in 2010. "My father always wanted one of his sons to follow in his footsteps. When he passed away, I took swimming more seriously. I said, 'I'm going to do this for him'. Every time I race, I am thinking about him and my mother. I point to the sky. I don't know if they are watching, but I hope I make them proud. I'm a tough individual, but life made me this way." (tuscaloosanews.com, 10 Apr 2015; documentonews.gr, 08 Aug 2019) |
Memorable sporting achievement |
Winning silver in the 50m freestyle at the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju, Republic of Korea. (Instagram profile, 29 Jul 2019; documentonews.gr, 08 Aug 2019) |
Most influential person in career |
Coach Akis Oikonomou, and his uncle. (documentonews.gr, 08 Aug 2019) |
Hero / Idol |
Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, US swimmer Michael Phelps. (documentonews.gr, 08 Aug 2019) |
Olympic Games |
Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
5 |
2021 |
Tokyo, JPN |
50m Freestyle |
21.72 |
Heats |
2021 |
Tokyo, JPN |
4 x 100m Freestyle Relay |
|
Heats |
2016 |
Rio de Janeiro, BRA |
100m Freestyle |
48.68 |
Semifinal |
2016 |
Rio de Janeiro, BRA |
50m Freestyle |
21.98 |
Heats |
2016 |
Rio de Janeiro, BRA |
4 x 100m Medley Relay |
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Heats |
2016 |
Rio de Janeiro, BRA |
4 x 100m Freestyle Relay |
|
31 |
2012 |
London, ENG |
100m Freestyle |
50.08 |
World Championships |
Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
8 |
2024 |
Doha, QAT |
50m Freestyle |
21.84 |
6 |
2024 |
Doha, QAT |
4 x 100m Freestyle Relay |
3:13.67 |
7 |
2023 |
Fukuoka, JPN |
50m Freestyle |
21.82 |
Heats |
2023 |
Fukuoka, JPN |
4 x 100m Freestyle Relay |
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8 |
2022 |
Budapest, HUN |
50m Freestyle |
21.89 |
Semifinal |
2019 |
Gwangju, KOR |
50m Butterfly |
23.29 |
2 |
2019 |
Gwangju, KOR |
50m Freestyle |
21.45 |
Heats |
2019 |
Gwangju, KOR |
4 x 100m Freestyle Relay |
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20 |
2017 |
Budapest, HUN |
50m Butterfly |
23.85 |
Heats |
2017 |
Budapest, HUN |
100m Freestyle |
48.88 |
7 |
2017 |
Budapest, HUN |
50m Freestyle |
21.73 |
Heats |
2017 |
Budapest, HUN |
4 x 100m Freestyle Relay |
|
Heats |
2017 |
Budapest, HUN |
4 x 100m Medley Relay |
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Heats |
2015 |
Kazan, RUS |
50m Butterfly |
23.96 |
Heats |
2015 |
Kazan, RUS |
100m Freestyle |
49.12 |
7 |
2015 |
Kazan, RUS |
50m Freestyle |
21.98 |
Heats |
2015 |
Kazan, RUS |
4 x 100m Medley Relay |
3:37.86 |
Heats |
2015 |
Kazan, RUS |
4 x 100m Freestyle Relay |
3:16.83 |
Heats |
2013 |
Barcelona, ESP |
50m Freestyle |
22.62 |
World Championships Short Course |
Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
Heats |
2022 |
Melbourne, VIC, AUS |
50m Butterfly |
23.30 |
Semifinal |
2022 |
Melbourne, VIC, AUS |
50m Freestyle |
21.08 |
Heats |
2018 |
Hangzhou, CHN |
50m Freestyle |
21.40 |
Heats |
2018 |
Hangzhou, CHN |
100m Freestyle |
47.63 |
Heats |
2018 |
Hangzhou, CHN |
50m Butterfly |
23.24 |
9 |
2016 |
Windsor, ON, CAN |
50m Freestyle |
21.50 |
32 |
2016 |
Windsor, ON, CAN |
50m Butterfly |
23.93 |
24 |
2016 |
Windsor, ON, CAN |
100m Freestyle |
48.07 |
Heats |
2012 |
Istanbul, TUR |
100m Freestyle |
49.15 |
29 |
2012 |
Istanbul, TUR |
50m Freestyle |
22.14 |
European Championships |
Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
Heats |
2022 |
Rome, ITA |
50m Butterfly |
23.65 |
3 |
2022 |
Rome, ITA |
50m Freestyle |
21.75 |
Heats |
2022 |
Rome, ITA |
4 x 100m Freestyle Relay |
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3 |
2021 |
Budapest, HUN |
50m Freestyle |
21.73 |
Heats |
2021 |
Budapest, HUN |
50m Butterfly |
23.61 |
Heats |
2021 |
Budapest, HUN |
100m Freestyle |
49.05 |
5 |
2021 |
Budapest, HUN |
4 x 100m Freestyle Relay |
3:13.39 |
2 |
2018 |
Glasgow, SCO |
50m Freestyle |
21.44 |
4 |
2018 |
Glasgow, SCO |
50m Butterfly |
23.19 |
Heats |
2018 |
Glasgow, SCO |
100m Freestyle |
DNS |
5 |
2018 |
Glasgow, SCO |
4 x 100m Freestyle Relay |
3:14.52 |
4 |
2016 |
London, ENG |
50m Freestyle |
21.89 |
Semifinal |
2016 |
London, ENG |
100m Freestyle |
48.92 |
Semifinal |
2016 |
London, ENG |
50m Butterfly |
24.02 |
4 |
2016 |
London, ENG |
4 x 100m Medley Relay |
3:34.41 |
4 |
2016 |
London, ENG |
4 x 100m Freestyle Relay |
3:14.42 |
Semifinal |
2014 |
Berlin, GER |
100m Freestyle |
49.73 |
7 |
2014 |
Berlin, GER |
50m Freestyle |
22.13 |
Heats |
2014 |
Berlin, GER |
50m Butterfly |
24.24 |
4 |
2012 |
Debrecen, HUN |
50m Freestyle |
22.22 |
Heats |
2012 |
Debrecen, HUN |
100m Freestyle |
49.89 |
6 |
2012 |
Debrecen, HUN |
4 x 100m Medley Relay |
3:37.24 |
European Championships Short Course |
Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
Semifinal |
2023 |
Otopeni, ROU |
50m Freestyle |
21.21 |
3 |
2023 |
Otopeni, ROU |
4 x 50m Freestyle Relay |
1:23.27 |
6 |
2017 |
Copenhagen, DEN |
50m Freestyle |
21.02 |
Semifinal |
2017 |
Copenhagen, DEN |
100m Freestyle |
47.54 |
Heats |
2017 |
Copenhagen, DEN |
50m Butterfly |
DNS |
44 |
2011 |
Szczecin, POL |
100m Freestyle |
49.66 |
20 |
2011 |
Szczecin, POL |
50m Freestyle |
22.58 |
35 |
2011 |
Szczecin, POL |
100m Individual Medley |
57.26 |
18 |
2011 |
Szczecin, POL |
4 x 50m Medley Relay |
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World Cup |
Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
4 |
2018 |
Budapest, HUN |
50m Freestyle |
21.22 |
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