Ukrainian swimmer Vladyslav Bukhov knows better than anyone just how fine the margins in his sport can be.

At just 21 years of age, the sprint swimmer claimed gold in the 50m freestyle at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha by a mere 0.01 seconds – literally less than the blink of an eye.

That title etched Bukhov into Ukraine’s sporting history, making him the country’s third-ever long-course (competitions held in a 50m pool) world champion.

At the time, Bukhov was a relatively unknown figure in elite swimming, with only a few thousand social media followers.

However, he left Qatar having completed one of the world championships’ greatest-ever shocks, edging out the previous two champions, Cameron McEvoy and Ben Proud, in the final.