On his second Olympic appearance in Sydney 2000, Pukhnatiy placed thirty-second in the 200 m individual medley. Swimming in heat three, he picked up a second seed by a 1.33-second margin behind winner George Bovell of Trinidad and Tobago in 2:06.01. He also held liable for an early takeoff in the 4×100 m freestyle relay, when his Uzbekistan team had been disqualified from the heats.