Alexeev, Vadim

Sport:
swimming

Country Represented:
Soviet Union, Israel

Years Competed:
1988, 1996

Olympic Info:
Alexeev competed in two Olympiads as a swimmer, first for the Soviet Union and then for Israel after emigrating there in the early 1990s. At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Vadim competed for the Soviet Union and finished in sixth place in the 200-meter breaststroke (2:16.7).

After missing the 1992 Games, Alexeev returned to Olympic competition at the 1996 Atlanta Games. In Atlanta, he was a member of Israel's 4x100-meter medley relay team (breaststroker Alexeev, freestyler Yoav Bruck, backstroker Eithan Urbach, and butterfly swimmer Dan Kutler) which placed eighth (3:42.90). It was the first time an Israeli team advanced to an Olympic swimming final!

At the same Olympics, Alexeev swam in two individual events. In the 100-meter breaststroke, he finished in sixth place in his preliminary heat (1:02.92), and missed qualifying for the consolation final by only 0.14 seconds; he officially finished 18th overall. Vadim also swam in the 200-meter breaststroke, and finished in 27th overall after he posted a time of 2:20.47 in his preliminary heat.

Career Highlights:
Before emigrating to Israel, Alexeev was one of the Soviet Union's top young swimmers. He swam his first race at the age of 12 and entered his first international competition four years later. At the 1986 European Junior Championships, Vadim won the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke events. After competing in the 1988 Olympics, he finished seventh in the 100-meter breaststroke at the 1989 European Championships. That year, he briefly held the Soviet National record in the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:02.11; it was broken later that year, but was the third fastest time in the world in 1989. The following year, Vadim had the world's twelfth fastest time in the 100-meter breaststroke (1:02.47).

Vadim missed the 1992 Olympics and dropped in the world rankings when he emigrated to Israel, but he quickly returned to top form. At the 1994 World Championship, he finished ninth in the 100-meter breaststroke (1:03.16) and tenth in the 200-meter breaststroke (2:15.47, breaking the Israeli national record), and finished the year ranked in the top 15 in both events. In 1995, he remained amongst the elite swimmers in the world, breaking the Israeli national record in the 100-meter breaststroke (1:02.52) at a meet in Vienna. He finished in seventh place in the same event with a time of 1:02.54 at the European Championships. At the same competition, he helped the Israeli national team finish sixth in the 400-meter medley relay (3:44.94). Following the 1996 Olympics, Vadim retired from international competition.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. April 21, 1970

Origin:
Alma Ata, Kazakhstan

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