Dmitriy Balandin
Balandin in 2016
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|
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Dmitriy Igorevich Balandin |
| National team |
 Kazakhstan
|
| Born |
4 April 1995 Almaty, Kazakhstan |
| Height | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) |
| Weight | 85 kg (187 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Strokes | Breaststroke |
| Coach | Vladimir Rybchenko |
Dmitriy Igorevich Balandin (Russian: Дмитрий Игоревич Баландин; born 4 April 1995) is a Kazakh breaststroke swimmer. He won the 200 m breaststroke at the 2016 Summer Olympics, as well as the 50, 100 and 200 m breaststroke events at the 2014 Asian Games.
Balandin currently holds two Kazakh records in the 100 and 200 m breaststroke, and also set a historic milestone for his nation by striking the breaststroke triple at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.
In the 2016 Rio Olympics, Balandin won a gold medal in the 200 m breaststroke, setting up new national record with 2:07.46. This was his first Olympic medal, and Kazakhstan's first-ever medal in a swimming event.
Balandin emerged as an unexpected medal contender at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, where he competed in all breaststroke events. In the men's 200 m breaststroke, Balandin moved from a top seed in the prelims to stun the entire crowd and crush the twelve-year-old meet record set by Japanese swimmer and four-time Olympic champion Kosuke Kitajima in a time of 2:07.67 for the gold medal, jumping him into third in the world rankings. The following day, in the men's 100 m breaststroke, Balandin threw down a Kazakh record in 59.92 to pick up his second gold of the meet. Additionally, he raced his stretch to overhaul a minute barrier for the first time in Asian Games history. On the final day of swimming, Balandin completed a remarkable meet with another Games record of 27.78 for his third straight gold of the meet in the 50 m breaststroke.
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