Igor Polianski is a swimmer who has competed for the Soviet Union. He competed at the 1988 Summer Olympic Games.
Polianski was widely regarded as one of the world's top backstroke swimmers in the late 1980s. He arrived at Seoul 1988 as the top medal favorite for the gold in the backstroke double. First, he surged past his teammate Serguei Zabolotnov towards the final length of the 200 metres backstroke to snatch the gold under the 2-minute threshold. Two days later, he entered the 100 metres backstroke final as the reigning world champion and an Olympic record holder from the heats, facing against his American rival David Berkoff. Polianski's race was marred by Berkoff's pet technique at the initial half, before Daichi Suzuki increased his dolphin kicks by a full body length after the final turn to pass them for a surprising gold. He fought off a sprint challenge against Berkoff for the silver but could not catch him near the wall to settle for the bronze by two hundredths of a second (0.02). He also added a bronze as a backstroke swimmer of the Soviet men's team in the 4x100 metres medley relay.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Polianski emigrated to New Zealand to run a swimming school and work full-time as a swimming coach.
Olympic Results[]
| Year | Event | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Men's 100m backstroke | 
|
| Men's 200m backstroke | 
| |
| Men's 4x100m medley relay |
|
1988[]
| Discipline | Round | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 metres backstroke | Heats | 55.04 | AR |
| A Final | 55.20 | ||
| 200 metres backstroke | Heats | 2:01.70 | |
| A Final | 1:59.37 | ||
| 4x100 metres medley relay | Heats | 3:45.29 (Reserve) |
|
| Final | 3:39.96 (55.35 split) |