Milak Clocks 21.89 50 Free After 1:54.90 200 Fly On Day 3 Of Hungarian Nationals

2024 HUNGARIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tuesday, April 9th – Friday, April 12th
• Duna Arena, Budapest, Hungary
• Prelims at 9am local (3am ET), Finals at 5pm local (11am ET)
• SwimSwam Preview #1/Preview #2
• Day 1 Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Recap
• Start Lists/Results
• Livestream (Prelims)

Updated with remainder of session’s results since original publishing.

24-year-old Olympic champion Kristof Milak has already done and dusted his two individual events this evening, winning both the 200m fly and 50m free.

After firing off a morning swim of 1:55.43 to take the top seed in the 2fly, Milak shaved off more time to ultimately get to the wall in 1:54.90 for the gold.

The Balazs Virth-coached world record holder split 24.91/29.37/30.62/30.00 to capture top prize and beat the field by well over a second. Behind him was Richard Marton who touched in 1:56.32 while Turkey’s national record holder Polat Turnali rounded out the top 3 in 1:56.41, a new lifetime best.

Milak reserved some of his speed for the 50m free later on this evening where he nailed his first-ever outing under the 22-second barrier.

He clocked 22.29 this morning to register the 4th-swiftest time of his career but tonight he fired off a mark of 21.89 to handily take the title.

Nandor Nemeth snagged silver in 22.19 and Bence Szabados secured bronze in 22.31.

Milak’s performance rendered him just the 4th Hungarian in history to have delved into 21-point territory in the 50m free.

Additionally, his time cleared the World Aquatics Olympics Qualification Time of 21.96, should Milak choose to swim it. Szebasztian Szabo has also dipped under the QT, courtesy of his 21.89 from last year’s Helsinki Swim Meet.

Top 5 Hungarian Men’s LCM 50 Free Performers All-Time

1. Krisztian Takacs – 21.42, 2009
2. Szebasztian Szabo – 21.60, 2022
3. Maxim Lobanovskij – 21.77, 2020
4. Kristof Milak – 21.89, 2024
5. Nandor Nemeth – 22.12, 2023

Additional Notes

• Also coached by Balazs Virth, Boglarka Kapas brought in the gold in the women’s 200m fly. 30-year-old Kapas stopped the clock in 2:08.15 (29.33/33.01/32.39/33.42) to clear the field by over 3 seconds. The next-closest competitor was Dalma Sebestyen who touched in 2:11.41. Kapas’ time dipped under the World Aquatics Olympic Qualification Time of 2:08.43 needed for Paris, making her just the 3rd Hungarian woman to qualify during the window thus far.
• Adam Telegdy got it done for gold in the men’s 100m back, hitting a result of 53.76. He notched the sole time of the field under 54-seconds, with the prelims leader Adam Jaszo settling for silver in 54.14. Benedek Kovacs rounded out the podium in 54.81. Telegdy’s outing fell painstakingly just .02 outside the 53.74 Olympic QT. He has already qualified in the 200m back, however.
• 17-year-old Dora Molnar topped the women’s 100m back event in a time of 1:01.03. She took gold in this event, among others, at the 2022 World Junior Championships.
• No woman was able to get under the 25-second barrier in the 50m freestyle. Petra Senanszky added slightly to her 25.00 morning outing, logging 25.05 for the gold. Nikolett Padar secured runner-up status in 25.55 and Anna Sztankovics also landed on the podium in 25.91 for bronze.
• Despite ASU NCAA champion Zalan Sarkany wrangling up the top seed in the men’s 400m free this morning in 3:55.16, it was David Betlehem who wound up at the wall first this evening. Betlehem turned in a time of 3:49.00, the 2nd-best result of his career. His PB remains at the 3:48.33 established at last year’s edition of this competition. Kristof Rasovszky snared silver in 3:50.10 and Italian Davide Marchello was 3rd in 3:51.44. Sarkany fell to 4th in 3:51.66
• Ajna Kesely and Bettina Fabian each delved under the 4:10 barrier in the women’s 400m free with the latter posting 4:08.24 to the latter’s 4:09.33. Padar also landed on the podium in 4:11.96 for bronze. The Olympic QT stands at 4:07.90.

Men

• 50m free – Szebasztian Szabo (21.89, 2023 Helsinki Swim Meet), Kristof Milak (21.89, 2024 Hungarian Nationals)
• 100m free – Nandor Nemeth (47.78, 2024 World Championships)
• 400m free – Kristof Rasovszky (3:46.77, 2024 World Championships)
• 800m free – Kristof Rasovszky (7:44.42, 2024 World Championships), David Betlehem (7:48.06, 2024 World Championships)
• 1500m free – David Betlehem (14:46.44, 2024 World Championships), Zalan Sarkany (14:53.19, 2023 Gyor Open)
• 100m back – Hubert Kos (53.19, 2023 U.S. Open), Adam Jaszo (53.35, Gyor Open)
• 200m back – Hubert Kos (1:55.95, 2024 World Championships), Adam Telegdy (1:56.65, 2024 World Championships)
• 100m fly – Kristof Milak (50.80, 2023 Hungarian Nationals), Hubert Kos (51.59, 2023 U.S. Open)
• 200m fly – Kristof Milak (1:52.58, 2023 Hungarian Nationals), Richard Marton (1:55.76, 2024 World Championships)
• 200m IM – Hubert Kos (1:57.88, 2023 U.S. Open), Gabor Zombori (1:57.88, 2024 Hungarian Nationals)

Women

• 200m free – Nikolett Padar (1:56.17, 2023 World Cup Budapest)
• 400m free – Ajna Kesely (4:06.35, 2023 Hungarian Nationals)
• 800m free – Ajna Kesely (8:26.04, 2023 Sette Colli Trophy)
• 200m back – Eszter Szabo-Feltothy (2:09.42, 2024 World Championships), Dora Molnar (2:10.31, 2024 World Championships)
• 200m fly – Boglarka Kapas (2:08.15, 2024 Hungarian Nationals)
• 200m IM – Dalma Sebestyen (2:10.87, 2023 Gyor Open)