Alexei Avakov on Huge Breaststroke Improvement at IU: "My confidence has built a lot"

With the season he's currently having, Alexei Avakov is in the process of adding his name to the long list of premier breaststrokers coming from Indiana. Not only did he clock personal bests at IU's mid-season meet of 51.34 & 1:54.19 in the 100/200 breast, but he then went to US Open in Austin and won the 100 breast, punching another PB of 59.45. Having only started swimming year-round in 2020, the IU sophomore is admittedly still a bit naive about the sport but is learning a lot every season. Having breaststroke athletes around him, such as Olympian Josh Matheny, Josh Bey, and Noah Cakir, has helped speed up this big learning curve.