For most, being behind is cause for panic. Seeing someone ahead leads to overcompensation in a desperate attempt to catch up. Or, at worst, a simple resignation, but junior Ilya Kharun is different.
It's why, after falling to fifth after the first 50 yards of the 200-yard butterfly finals in the NCAA championships, Kharun remained calm.
It was Kharun's last chance to win an individual title, having finished third in both the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly. But still, he relished the opportunity to hunt down his opponents.
"It's the fun of the chase," head coach Herbie Behm said. "That's what I think everybody likes about this sport, and about any sport where you’re racing. You’re just a little kid trying to beat the other people."
It was his race to lose after the defending champion, Georgia's Luca Urlando, pulled out due to injury. Seeing his rivals in front only added fuel to his resolve.
At the 100-yard mark, Kharun re-established control. He kept his foot on the throttle, setting a time of 24.95 in the last-50 split. He was the only person to go sub-25 seconds during that final stretch. His time of 1:37.66 was half a second faster than the next closest swimmer.
"My plan was to just build it up," Kharun said in an interview with ESPN. "And then I knew at the end I could come home. So that’s exactly what I did."
The result saw Kharun join all-time Sun Devil great Léon Marchand as the only male swimmers in program history with multiple individual NCAA titles. Both of Kharun’s championships, one in his freshman season and one this season, have helped the program earn two of its best finishes at the national tournament.
Alongside his individual title, Kharun helped orchestrate four out of five relay wins for the Sun Devils. It's the first time a men's program has won four relays at nationals since 2017, when Texas did it.
"He just wants to beat everybody at everything," Behm said. "Whatever it is, every practice, everything, he wants to beat everybody all the time, which is great to have on our team."
Even before nationals, Kharun had already established his dominance. In the Big 12 Championships, he won three individual races while setting a new meet record for each.
It saw him earn the Men's Swimmer of the Meet. His performance fueled the team's second straight Big 12 title and its fourth consecutive conference championship for men.
At the root of Kharun's success is his consistency. Even his worst days go toe-to-toe with his rivals'. The work ethic he exudes in his quest for greatness is what produces that steadiness.
"He doesn’t really have bad days," Behm said. "It's not that he's an abnormal person or anything. It's just, when he's feeling bad, he makes it still pretty good, and having that on your team is pretty outstanding to just show the standard that we expect."
Next season, Kharun will need to become a true leader. Several top performers, such as Adam Chaney and Remi Fabiani, who were integral to the relay success, are set to move on from ASU. It will be on Kharun’s shoulders to not only continue his own improvement, but also help lead his teammates to find their own.
“Transferring that growth to the next generation is really important,” Behm said. “I have full faith in Ilya to help that out.”
Behm always knew Kharun would be fast, but during his freshman campaign, in a matchup against Stanford on Jan. 19, 2024, he would showcase a glimpse of what was to come.
The meet was held during heavy rainfall, adding an extra difficulty to the 200-yard butterfly race. But the main challenge for Kharun came in the form of Andrei Minakov — the 2022 NCAA champion in the 100-yard butterfly.
Away from home in the Avery Aquatic Center, facing the wrath of Mother Nature and lining up against a national champion, it would have been easy for the freshman to feel overwhelmed. Heading into the last 50 yards, Kharun found himself behind by 0.47 seconds.
Instead of folding under pressure, Behm and the rest of the swimming world got to see the drive of Kharun. His ability and innate desire to win from behind triggered his comeback.
He finished the 50 yards with a split time of 25.07 — more than a second faster than Minakov.
"He went, just swam next to this guy this whole time and just willed himself to win," Behm said. "And it was a super-fast time. And that was like, 'Okay, this kid is good.'"
That mentality, that consistent will to be the best, has produced one of the greatest resumes in ASU history. A Big 12 Men's Swimmer of the Meet. A multiple NCAA Champion. A two-time Olympic Bronze Medalist.
And a constant need to hunt for more.
Edited by Niall Rosenberg, Henry Smardo and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporter at jakobarnarsson@gmail.com.
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