Katinka Hosszu Breaks 200 IM European Record Again in Semi-Finals

Katinka Hosszu broke the European Record in the 200 IM for the second time today, swimming to a 2:06.84 in this evening’s semi-finals of the 2015 FINA World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, Russia.  That time was .46 seconds faster than her record-setting 2:07.30 swim this morning.

Comparative splits:

Hosszu attacked the front half of the swim a little more this evening, going .29 faster in the fly leg and .49 in the backstroke than she did this morning.  It looks like she may have paid for the aggressiveness a little bit on the backhalf, but not by much, as she still dropped almost half-a-second between the two sessions.

The world record still belongs to the USA’s Ariana Kukors, who swam a blistering 2:06.15 at the 2009 World Championships in Rome, but Hosszu’s swim this evening is now the second-fastest of all-time.  It is also the fastest swim ever in textile, a mark which previously belonged to Ye Shiwen from her 2:07.57 in the 2012 Olympics.

Hosszu is starting to dominate this event like Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte have done in men’s 200 IM over the past decade.  Here’s an updated list of the ten fastest performances in history:

1. Ariana Kukors, USA – 2:06.15 – 2009
2.  Katinka Hosszu, HUN – 2:06.84 – 2015
T-3. Ariana Kukors, USA – 2:07.03 – 2009
T-3. Stephanie Rice, AUS – 2:07.03 – 2009
5. Katinka Hosszu, HUN – 2:07.30 – 2015
6. Katinka Hosszu, HUN – 2:07.46 – 2009
7. Ye Shiwen, CHN – 2:07.57 – 2012
8. Katinka Hosszu, HUN – 2:07.92 – 2013
9. Katinka Hosszu, HUN – 2:08.11 – 2014
10. Alicia Coutts, AUS – 2:08.15 – 2012

She now owns five of the top ten times, and she will almost certainly add a sixth time in there tomorrow when she swims in the final.  It’d require a sizable drop to take down Kukors’s record, but the fact that the 200 IM is early in the meet gives her a better chance than she’d have if it was at the end of her grueling seven event schedule.