TOKYO - Russia swimmers dominated the men's 100m backstroke at the Tokyo Olympics as Evgeny Rylov and Kliment Kolesnikov claimed the gold and silver, edging defending champion Ryan Murphy to third here on Tuesday.

Finishing sixth at Rio 2016, Rylov touched first this time in 51.98 seconds, setting a new European record. His compatriot Kolesnikov was 0.02 seconds behind, taking home a silver in his Olympic debut.

World record holder Murphy had to settle for a bronze, unable to catch up with the two Russians after the first 50m, clocking 52.19.

China's reigning world champion Xu Jiayu finished fifth in 52.51.