Mark Nikolaev Set to Make His Australian Debut at 2026 World Short Course Championships

By Braden Keith on SwimSwam
Mark Nikolaev, 29, will make his Australian debut at the 2026 World Short Course Swimming Championships in December five years after he began the process of changing his sporting citizenship.
He earned that spot with a 49.79 win in the 100 backstroke on day 1 of the meet. While that’s not a best time for him (49.25 in 2021), it is better than the 50.03 Australian standard.
Nikolaev was born in Seltso, Russia in the far western part of the country near the border