Although he broke the Olympic record, he was disappointed by not breaking a new world record.Continue reading
With a superb performance, Kristóf Milák earned his second medal, this time a silver, in the men’s 100m butterfly. He finished only a few hundredths of a second behind the American world record holder, Caeleb Dressel.
As expected, the final of the 100m butterfly brought a huge battle for Olympic gold. Caeleb Dressel’s start proved unbeatable, as the American finished the first lap with almost a half-body length advantage. However, in the last 50 meters of the final, Kristóf Milák started to catch up with Dressel. By the end of the second lap, Milák was mere inches away from his rival.
Unfortunately, the 21-year-old Hungarian swimmer was unable to overtake Dressel, who finished in 49.45 seconds, breaking his own world record. Milák touched second at 49.62 seconds, merely 23 hundredths of a second behind the American. With his exceptional performance, he also set a new European Record.
Kristóf Milák and Caeleb Dressel after the race. Photo by Tamás Kovács/MTI
“I am incredibly happy and satisfied with this performance. It was one of – if not the – most difficult battles of my life. I felt good, I was hoping to catch Dressel. If I could have hit the wall better, I might have got him, but I’m still very pleased,” Milák said after his duel in the pool.
By clinching a silver following his gold in 200m butterfly, Milák won the Hungarian team’s sixth medal, their second silver at the Tokyo Games.
Featured photo by Tamás Kovács/MTI