Ilya Kharun Seeking World-Class Butterfly Performances at U.S. Nationals
Immediately upon announcing he would switch his sporting nationality from Canada to the United States, Ilya Kharun became a potential star for the American men. After all, Kharun won two Olympic medals in the butterfly event at the Paris Olympics, a meet when Bobby Finke was the only U.S. swimmer to reach the individual podium twice.
Kharun has continued to produce in the butterfly events since his Olympic debut. In 2025, he won World Championships bronze in one of the fastest 100 fly fields ever assembled, Kharun’s time of 50.07 leaving him just short of the vaunted 50-second barrier. His other results at the Singapore World Championships were off his best, but he still finished the year ranked fourth in the world in the 50 and 200-meter races.
Thus far in 2026, Kharun has produced impressive results in short course yards, leading Arizona State to four relay wins and a fourth-place finish overall at the NCAA Championships. He parlayed that into strong swimming on the Mare Nostrum tour and at USA Swimming’s Pro Swim Series finale in Indianapolis, with top times of 22.73 in the 50 fly, 50.61 in the 100 fly and 1:54.96 in the 200.
Now, he will be the highest-profile swimmer using U.S. Nationals in Irvine, Calif., as his end-of-season meet, hoping to post long course times that rival the best in the world. Any nationality switch requires a one-year waiting period where Kharun is unable to represent either country internationally.
In the 200 fly, Kharun should have his primary competitor to test himself against. Luca Urlando is scheduled to race the long course event for the first time since winning the world title last year. Urlando missed the NCAA Championships with injury, depriving fans of an anticipated showdown between the duo, but that could play out Tuesday evening.
Ilya Kharun — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Kharun will then be the big favorite in the sprint butterfly events, seeking to establish himself ahead of his first chance at representing the United States, which could potentially come at the Short Course World Championships later this year but certainly by next year’s long course global meet.
As for time goals, Kharun is chasing his own best form. He currently ranks 11th all-time in the 50 fly at 22.68, eighth in the 100 fly with his 50.07 and ninth in the 200 at 1:52.80. Kharun has not gotten close to his best time in the 200 since the Olympics, so anything in 1:53-low territory at Nationals would mark a huge step toward an international podium return. He will have Urlando in the pool to compete against and an eye on the marks that Leon Marchand and Krzysztof Chmielewski manage at the European Championships.
In the always-unpredictable 50, Kharun hopes to come close to this year’s top time, a 22.59 by Russia’s Egor Kornev. An even more ambitious goal would be the times Maxime Grousset and Noè Ponti achieved at last year’s World Championships, 22.48 and 22.51, respectively. Getting into that range would announce Kharun as a serious contender for 50 fly medals in the coming years, particularly with the event now part of the Olympic program for 2028.
But his best event right now is the 100, and that means Kharun will need to get under 50 seconds to remain a serious international contender in the coming years. The current world top time is 50.22, posted by Olympic champion Kristof Milak in May. Grousset, Milak, Ponti and Kharun’s Canadian teammate Josh Liendo have all broken the barrier in their careers, and Kharun is in position to add his name to that list this week. Such speed would also give future American men’s medley relay teams a big boost; the team had to overperform just to manage bronze against tough European competition at the 2025 Worlds.
It’s unlikely that anyone racing at Nationals has the speed to keep up with Kharun in the 50 or 100. Dare Rose, last year’s 50 fly U.S. national champion, is scheduled to race the 100 only, while Michael Andrew is the second seed in the 50. Kharun can expect to see Caeleb Dressel making an appearance, the 29-year-old still building toward a potential fourth Olympic appearance in Los Angeles. Dressel remains the all-time sprint butterfly standard-bearer, with a world record of 49.45 in the 100 and a 50 fly time of 22.35 ranking second in history.
For right now, Kharun prepares to face off against the clock. Without an international meet this year, he will try to throw down times that can hold up once his rivals compete at their big meets, many at the European Championships while his former (Canadian) and future (American) compatriots prep for Pan Pacs in the same Irvine pool two weeks later.
