Hungary’s fresh Olympic champion has just become a meme star after his reaction following the 200m butterfly final. Although he had no rival for the gold, and easily broke Michael Phelps’ Olympics record too, he still appeared somewhat disappointed, maybe even sad, as he hadn’t managed to break (his own) world record, blaming a loss in concentration after he had to change his swim suit 10 minutes before the starting pistol.
“I’m not disappointed, that’s how it went this time,” the perfectionist swimmer said after beating the swimmer who came in second by almost 2.5 seconds and surpassing 23-time Olympic champion Phelps’s Olympic record. This lack of satisfaction could be read on Milák’s face after making it to the finish. After his win, many posted on Twitter:
Kristof Milak: “Yeah, I just won a gold medal and broke the Olympics record.” #Olympics pic.twitter.com/m0CSNNKfjl
— Adit Wratsangka (@adityastha) July 28, 2021
Can someone tell Kristof Milak he just won gold? #Olympics pic.twitter.com/RR1Eu1tab1
— Carrie Reid (@CarrieJaneReid) July 28, 2021
Milak winning a gold medal in the 200 butterfly : pic.twitter.com/KEm8m551QE
— Marilyn Keys (@mkeys724) July 28, 2021
“Guess who just won the gold and who won the silver? (On the right is Honda, who came in second).
Devinez qui vient de remporter l’or olympique et l’argent entre les deux ? #Tokyo2020 #milak pic.twitter.com/NKPpQmbmvK
— Bogdan BODNAR (@bogdandebodnar) July 28, 2021
Before the race, he said that his goal was to break his own world record. As a matter of fact, his gold-winning time (1.51.25) is a little more than half a second behind his world record (1:50.73) achieved in July, 2019 at the FINA World Championships 2019 in Gwangju, South Korea. Milák blames a minor distraction, as he had to change his swim suit ten minutes before the start.
“I was so sure that I had wasted so much energy on the pants 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.”
Despite being somewhat frustrated, he knows his qualities well. “I was told that I could swim a world record in Kecskemét the day after tomorrow if I wanted to… I know that too,” he added.
And Milák will still have the chance to make himself perhaps more satisfied, since he has yet to compete in the 100m butterfly. “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 100 butterfly,” he said.
Featured photo by Tamás Kovács/MTI