site.btaSwimmer Deniel Nankov Breaks Bulgaria's National Record in Short Course 50 m Freestyle but Drops out of World Championship Semifinals

Swimmer Deniel Nankov broke Bulgaria's national men's record in short course 50 m freestyle but dropped out of the semifinals of the 2024 World Aquatics Short Course Swimming Championships in Budapest.

Nankov finished the distance in 21.50 sec, which was 0.54 sec faster than the previous national record set by Kaloyan Bratanov. Nankov did not advance beyond the qualification heats and ranked 28th in the men's 50 m freestyle event.

Jordan Crooks of the Cayman Islands clocked the best time in the qualifications in this event, breaking the world record with his 20.08 sec. The previous world record of 20.16 sec was set by Caeleb Dressel of the United States four years ago, also in Budapest.

In the men's 50 m breaststroke event, Bulgaria's Maksim Manolov finished in 27.46 sec, placing sixth in his heat, which left him out of Saturday's semifinals as well.

In the women's division, Bulgaria's Teya Nikolova placed 22nd after the 50 m breaststroke qualifications, clocking 30.35 sec, and national record holder Diana Petkova ranked 25th on 30.39 sec. Petkova's national record of 30.04 sec was set during the 2023 European Championships in Otopeni, Romania.

As BTA reported earlier, Petkova finished 7th in the women’s 100 m medley in Budapest on Friday, clocking 58.73 sec. Her achievement comes on top of a national record of 58.28 sec that she set in the semifinals of the same event on Thursday.