Irakli Bolkvadze

Irakli Bolkvadze (Georgian: ირაკლი ბოლქვაძე; born December 12, 1994 in Nicosia, Cyprus) is a Georgian swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke and individual medley events.[1][2] He won a bronze medal in the boys' 200 m breaststroke at the 2012 European Junior Swimming Championships in Antwerp, Belgium with a time of 2:15.46.[3] Bolkvadze is also trained by his personal coach Irina Minjulina.

Irakli Bolkvadze
Personal information
Nickname(s)Ika, Bolkva
Nationality Georgia
Born (1994-12-12) 12 December 1994
Nicosia, Cyprus
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight73 kg (161 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBreaststroke, medley
ClubHamilton Aquatics Dubai
CoachGeorgi Abzianidze
Irina Minjulina
Chris Tidey[1]
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing  Georgia
European Junior Championships
2012 Antwerp200 m breaststroke

Bolkvadze qualified for the men's 200 m breaststroke at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London by breaking a new Georgian record and eclipsing a FINA B-standard entry time of 2:16.35 from the European Championships in Debrecen, Hungary.[4][5] In Georgia's Olympic history, he also became the first ever swimmer to surpass an invitation time set by FINA.[6] He dominated the first heat by two seconds ahead of Kyrgyzstan's Dmitrii Aleksandrov, lowering his Georgian record time to 2:15.86. Bolkvadze failed to advance into the semifinals, as he placed twenty-eighth overall in the preliminary heats.[7]

At the 2013 FINA World Championships in Barcelona, Bolkvadze demolished a new Georgian record of 2:03.55 in the 200 m individual medley, but finished thirty-fifth from the morning prelims.[8][9] Bolkvadze is currently a member of Hamilton Aquatics Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates under head coach Chris Tidey.

Personal bests
  • 50 m breaststroke – 30.28
  • 100 m breaststroke – 1:04.24
  • 200 m breaststroke – 2:15.46
  • 200 m individual medley – 2:03.55
  • 400 m individual medley – 4:29.25

References
  1. "Irakli Bolkvadze". London 2012. Archived from the original on 1 May 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  2. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Irakli Bolkvadze". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  3. "European Junior Championships: Germany Tops Medal Count, Russia Second". Swimming World Magazine. 10 July 2012. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  4. "Qualifying Athletes – Men's 200 m breaststroke" (PDF). FINA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 November 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  5. "2012 European Swimming Championships (Debrecen, Hungary) – Men's 200m Breaststroke Heats". Omega Timing. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  6. "Bolkvadze first ever Georgian swimmer to qualify for the Olympics". Swimmer's Daily. 24 May 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  7. "Men's 200m Breaststroke Heat 1". London 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  8. "2013 FINA World Championships (Barcelona, Spain) – Men's 200m Individual Medley Heats" (PDF). Omega Timing. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  9. "New Georgian record: Irakli Bolkvadze at Barcelona World Championship". Swimming World Magazine. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
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