BUDAPEST, Hungary (AFP) — Russian swimmers marked their return to the international stage with two gold medals at the World Short Course Championships on Wednesday.

Only one swimmer from Russia was allowed to compete at the Paris Olympics earlier this year, but 28 were authorized to participate in Budapest under a neutral flag.

It is the most Russian swimmers at an international swimming meet since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Miron Lifintsev won the men’s 100m backstroke title with the 18-year-old setting a new junior world record of 48.76 seconds.

Hungarian Hubert Kos, the Olympic 200m backstroke champion, and Poland’s Kacper Stokowski completed the podium.

The Russian quartet finished off the second day of action by winning the 4x50m mixed medley relay final ahead of Canada and the United States.

Russian competitors are not allowed to speak to the media after their races.

In other races, Switzerland’s Noe Ponti won 50m men’s butterfly gold in a world record time of 21.32 seconds.

American Regan Smith, who won three individual silvers at the Paris Games, took the women’s 100m backstroke title, while her compatriots Lani Pallister (800m freestyle) and Gretchen Walsh (50m butterfly) also struck gold.