Satisfying expectations and fulfilling his personal promises, Kristóf Milák easily won the men’s 200m butterfly at the Tokyo Olympics, bagging Hungary’s second gold medal in Japan. In addition, he also broke Michael Phelps’ Olympic record.
As the reigning World and European champion, world record holder, and easily qualifying for the finals with the best time with a confident 2.5-second advantage, not many would have bet against him.
Milák left no doubt about him easily being the world’s best in this event, and has finally been crowned Olympic champion.
Photo by Tamás Kovács/MTI
He made a new Olympic record of 1:51.25, even surpassing that of U.S. champion, Michael Phelps.
Surprisingly, after having won the Olympics, he gave an interview to sports daily Nemzeti Sport with mixed feelings.
Photo by Tamás Kovács/MTI
“I was so sure that I had wasted so much energy on my pants [Milák had to change his swimming pants 10 minutes before the start] that I wasn’t going to get this world record – so I just swam… These little things, little nuances can take their toll on your swim because you lose concentration. But I’m not disappointed, that’s how it went this time. I was told that I could swim a world record in Kecskemét the day after tomorrow if I wanted to… I know that too.”
“I’ve got my first gold, from here I can go on to the next, and the next, and the next. I still have things to do in this Olympics, for example, to achieve a similar result in the 100m butterfly.”
Tamás Kenderesi, the other Hungarian swimmer in the finals, and 2016 bronze medalist of the event, came in fourth.
Featured photo by Tamás Kovács/MTI