Sergei Zabolotnov

Sergei Zabolotnov

Personal information
Born	(1963-08-11) 11 August 1963 Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union
Height	1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weight	90 kg (198 lb)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Club	Zenit, Trud (1981–1982) SKA (1983) Dynamo (1984–1990)
Medal record Representing Soviet Union Olympic Games 1988 Seoul 4×100 m medley World Championships 1986 Madrid 100 m backstroke European Championships 1983 Rome 200 m backstroke 1987 Strasbourg 100 m backstroke 1987 Strasbourg 200 m backstroke 1989 Bonn 4×100 m medley 1985 Sofia 200 m backstroke 1989 Bonn 100 m backstroke 1983 Rome 100 m backstroke 1985 Sofia 100 m backstroke Summer Universiade 1981 Bucharest 100 m backstroke 1981 Bucharest 200 m backstroke 1981 Bucharest 4x100 m medley 1983 Edmonton 200 m backstroke 1985 Kobe 100 m backstroke Friendship Games 1984 Moscow 200 m backstroke

Sergei Valentinovich Zabolotnov (also Sergey, Russian: Серге́й Валентинович Заболотнов; born 11 August 1963, is a former backstroke swimmer from the USSR.

Career

In 1983, he set a European record in the 200 m backstroke. The time of 2:00.42 was achieved on 4 July 1983 at Edmonton, Canada, when winning a gold medal whilst competing in the World University Games. He set his second European record on 15 February 1984, recording 2:00.39 at the Soviet Winter Nationals.

After missing the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles of late July and early August due to the eastern bloc boycott, Zabolotnov competed at the Friendship Games in Moscow, USSR, winning the gold medal for the 200 m backstroke in a world record time of 1:58.41 on 21 August 1984. This time eclipsed the previous world record of 1:58.86 set by Rick Carey, USA on 27 June 1984 at the USA Olympic Swimming Trials. Rick Carey won the gold medal for the 200 m backstroke in Los Angeles in a time of 2:00.23, three weeks before Zabolotnov's world record swim. Carey recorded 1:58.99 in the preliminaries in Los Angeles for an Olympic record.

Zabolotnov competed at the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, in both the 100 and 200 m backstroke, finishing fourth in each. His time in the 100 m backstroke was 55.37. His time in the 200 m backstroke was 2:00.52. He competed in the preliminaries of the 4 × 100 m medley relay only but earned a bronze medal when the Soviet team finished behind the United States and Canadian teams in the final.