Hungary’s Short Course National Championships got underway last night in the town of Szazhalombatta, just south of Budapest. On the first night of the meet, only distance races were contended: the 1500 freestyle for the men and the 800 freestyle for women.
Gergely Gyurta led a trio of fast swims in the 1500, winning in 14:28.85, followed by Peter Bernek in 14:33.20 and Gergo Kis in 14:36.38. Those three times are the top 1500 times in the world right now, ahead of the coming World Short Course Championships in Windsor, Ontario:
2015-2016 SCM Men 1500 Free
PALTRINIERI
14.08.06*WR
| 2 | Gabriele DETTI | ITA | 14.18.00 | 12/04 |
| 3 | Connor JAEGER | USA | 14.20.24 | 12/12 |
| 4 | Henrik CHRISTIANSEN | NOR | 14.23.60 | 12/04 |
| 5 | Gergely GYURTA | HUN | 14.28.85 | 11/12 |
The women were equally impressive, with Boglarka Kapas pulling away from Katinka Hosszu at the halfway point to post a world leading time of 8:14.23. Hosszu would finish second in 8:18.96, good for second in the world but well off her best time from 2014 of 8:08.41. Eve Risztov, who puts the majority of her focus into open water swimming, finished third in 8:25.48, still one of the best times of this short course season:
2015-2016 SCM Women 800 Free
SMITH
8.10.03
| 2 | Jazmin CARLIN | GBR | 8.11.01 | 12/03 |
| 3 | Boglarka KAPAS | HUN | 8.11.43 | 12/03 |
| 4 | Becca MANN | USA | 8.12.43 | 12/12 |
| 5 | Jessica ASHWOOD | AUS | 8.13.63 | 11/26 |
Also performing well was 14 year old Ajna Kesely, who posted an 8:30.61, which is the top junior time in the world thus far in the new season.
The meet resumes with a full slate of events tomorrow, check back here for daily reports on all the action at the Hungarian Short Course National Championships. Full results for the distance races can be found here.