Agonizingly close: Kazakh swimmer Mussin falls just short of bronze in Barcelona

Adilbek Mussin / Photo by Sabirov Sali/Olympic.kz

Adilbek Mussin, one of Kazakhstan’s top swimmers, narrowly missed a podium finish at the prestigious Mare Nostrum tournament in Barcelona. The 25-year-old swimmer finished fourth in the 100-meter butterfly with a time of 52.54 seconds, just one-hundredth of a second behind bronze medalist Ulises Cazau of Argentina (52.53).

Switzerland’s Noe Ponti took gold in the event with a time of 51.05 seconds. Roman Shevlyakov of Russia, competing under a neutral flag, claimed silver (52.23).

Mussin holds Kazakhstan’s national records in the 50-meter (23.40), 100-meter (51.68) and 200-meter (1:58.58) butterfly.

Also representing Kazakhstan, 19-year-old Xenia Ignatova reached the finals on the first day of the competition. She placed eighth in the 200-meter backstroke with a time of 2:17.15, more than four seconds slower than her national record of 2:12.92.

The gold in the women’s 200-meter backstroke went to Anastasiya Shkurdai of Belarus, who also competed under a neutral flag, finishing in 2:10.23. Spain’s Estella Llum Tonrath Nollgen took silver (2:11.38), while Hungary’s Eszter Szabo Feltothy claimed bronze (2:11.94).

Other members of Kazakhstan’s national team competed in preliminary heats on May 21 but did not advance to the finals. Participants included:

Yegor Popov, 18, in the 50-meter freestyle and 100-meter backstroke.
Maxim Skazobtsov, 18, in the 100-meter butterfly.
Daniil Cherepanov, 19, in the 200-meter freestyle.
Arsen Kozhakhmetov, 19, in the 50-meter breaststroke.
Sofia Spodarenko, 27, in the 50-meter butterfly.

None of these athletes reached the final eight in their respective events.

The Mare Nostrum Swim Tour, a prestigious series that has taken place annually since 1994, is held each spring and early summer in Mediterranean cities.

The second stage of the 2025 tour is being held in Barcelona on May 21-22, featuring more than 500 swimmers. Kazakhstan did not participate in the first stage, which took place in Monaco on May 17-18.