Who is Denis Petrashov? Kyrgyzstan swimmer takes ACC Swimming and Diving Championships in U.S. by storm

Denis Petrashov, a Kyrgyzstan swimmer who won a silver medal at the 2018 Youth Olympics, had a fantastic run at the ACC Swimming and Diving Championships.

Petrashov secured first place in the 200-yard breaststroke with a tournament record time of 1:50:51. Just days before this record victory, Petrashov finished second in the US ACC competition in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:51.89.

The Eastern United States is home to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), a collegiate sporting organization. Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is where the 15 ACC member schools compete.

According to the Swimming Federation of Kyrgyzstan, the ACC League tournament is one of the three most competitive events in North America and brings together the top university teams from the East Coast. Denis Petrashov was given the chance to compete in the competition with his national team by a University of Louisville squad.

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Who is Denis Petrashov?

Born on February 1, 2000, in Bishkek, Petrashov is a competitive swimmer from Kyrgyzstan. He is the son of former three-time Olympian Yevgeny Petrashov, who is also a former national record holder in breaststroke. Interestingly, Georgy Petroshove, a Soviet Master of Sport in Cycling, is his grandfather.

Denis Petrashov first competed in a major tournament at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships. However, he left the tournament with nothing.

Later in 2016, he competed in the Rio Olympics, where he finished in 38th position in the 200-meter breaststroke event. In the same year, he competed in the Asian Championships, where he managed to reach the final of the 200-meter breaststroke. He finished sixth in this competition.

In the 2017 Maccabiah Games, Petrashov did manage to get to the finals of both the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke but ultimately ended up placing fifth on the leaderboard.

Denis Petrashov also participated in his second World Aquatics Championships in 2017. However, the results were the same for the youngster as he barely managed to finish in the top 50 positions in both the 100-meter and 200-meter events.

At the 2018 Youth Olympics, Petrashov managed to secure a silver medal in the 100-meter breaststroke, losing to gold-medalist Sun Jiajun of China.

Petrashov competed in the 2019 10th Asian Age Group Swimming Championships, which took place in Bangalore, India. He managed to secure a gold medal in the 200-meter breaststroke and two silvers in the 50-meter and 100-meter breaststroke events.

In his third appearance at the World Aquatics Championships in 2019, Denis Petrashov bettered his previous results by finishing in the top 30 in both the 100-meter and 200-meter backstroke events.

Petroshov also competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in both 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke events. Even this time he had to leave with no medals. However, he did manage to set a national record for his country with a time of 1:00.23.

In his fourth World Aquatics Championships in 2022 in Budapest, Petrashov finished 20th in the 100-meter breaststroke and 12th in the 200-meter breaststroke.

Earlier in the 2022 Maccabiah Games in Israel, Denis Petrashov won two gold medals in the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke. He also broke the record for 100-meter breaststrokes in the Maccabiahgames with a time of 1:00.46, previously held by B.J. Johnson of the US.

With age on his side and seeing his recent performances, it is evident to say that the 23-year-old Petrashov could have a fantastic career. If not the world's best, he can absolutely become Asia's best swimmer of all time.