In 2019 she broke the junior world record for the 200 metre breaststroke (short course) with a time of 2:17.71 and broke her own record twice in 2021 with a time of 2:17.57 and then 2:16.88.[5][6]
On 19 April 2023, at the year's Russian National Championships conducted in long course metres at the Palace of Water Sports in Kazan, Chikunova won the gold medal in the 100 metre breaststroke with a personal best time of 1:04.92, which was a world-leading time for the 2023 year (fastest time by a female swimmer in-competition in the 2023 year up through the time of the swim).[7][8][9] In the final of the 200 metre breaststroke two days later, she won the gold medal with a personal best time of 2:17.55, which was 1.40 seconds faster than the world record in the event.[10][11][12][13][14]
