Irakli Bolkvadze (Georgian: ირაკლი ბოლქვაძე; born December 12, 1994 in Nicosia, Cyprus) is a Georgian swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke and individual medley events. 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. Bolkvadze is also trained by his personal coach Irina Minjulina.

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. In Georgia's Olympic history, he also became the first ever swimmer to surp* an invitation time set by FINA. 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.

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. 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

External links

• NBC Olympics Profile