Viktória Mihályvári-Farkas won the gold, and Zsuzsanna Jakabos the silver medal in the 400-meter medley at the European Swimming Championships in Rome on Saturday. Kristóf Milák also won the gold medal in the 100m butterfly.
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The 18-year-old Mihályvári-Farkas, who is also a Hungarian champion, crossed the finish line in 4:37.56, while her 33-year-old compatriot, Jakabos, was second in 4:39.79.
In the morning preliminary heat, the FTC swimmer beat three-time Olympic champion Katinka Hosszú, who surprisingly swam worse than Jakabos, so Mihályvári-Farkas was looking forward to the final with the best time.
She took the lead after the backstroke in the final and did not let anyone take the victory from her, winning her first gold in the adult event. Last year, at the pre-Olympic Continental Championships, she finished second.
I hope that I managed to prove, first of all to myself, that the World Championships was just a glitch. I started my preparation after the World Championships with the goal of proving it to myself and my coach, and I did that. This will be a great strength for the future. I went into the finals with the desire that it was possible to win and now I’m standing here with a gold medal around my neck and I can call myself a European champion. Last year, after my second place, I said that with the silver medal around my neck the anthem was a bit for me too, but now it was for me,”
said Mihályvári-Farkas, who added that she has never been as excited as she was now, standing on top of the podium. She won the second gold for the Hungarian delegation in the Italian capital.
Zsuzsanna Jakabos was only third at the halfway point and started the race from fourth place, from which she was able to climb to second place on the podium.
It is incredible, I have not expected this for a long time. Of course, I am very happy and it is a fantastic feeling to hear the anthem, even if it’s not for me. I am especially happy that it happened here because it is one of my favorite pools,”
said Jakabos, who plans to take a longer break after the continental championships, but wants to be at the World Short Course Championships in Australia at the end of the year.
Winner Viktoria Mihályvári-Farkas (on the right) and runner-up Zsuzsanna Jakabos (on the left) at the results announcement of the women’s 400 m medley final at the European Aquatics Championships in Rome, at the Stadio Del Nuoto on August 13, 2022. Photo by Zsolt Czeglédi/MTI
Olympic silver medalist and world champion Kristóf Milák crossed the finish line in 50.33 seconds to win the gold medal in the 100m butterfly.
The Honvéd athlete “rented” the fastest time in lane 4 in the 200m mixed medley relay, although he could rest only fifteen minutes after the 100m freestyle final, where he finished second with a national record behind world record holder David Popovici of Romania.
Gold medallist Kristóf Milák at the announcement of the results of the men’s 100m butterfly final at the European Aquatics Championships at the Stadio Del Nuoto in Rome, August 14, 2022. Photo by Zsolt Czeglédi/MTI
The 22-year-old Hungarian seemed to hold back a bit in the final – he had two more numbers on Sunday – and only secured first place in the last 10 meters.
Hubert Kós missed the podium in the last seconds, but still improved his personal best (51.52). He was very disappointed after the mixed medley relay: “I am sorry, I hope I can improve in the 200 mixed.”
Source: MTI
Featured image: Winner Viktória Mihályvári-Farkas (on the right) and runner-up Zsuzsanna Jakabos (on the left) in the women’s 400 m medley final at the European Aquatics Championships in Rome, at the Stadio Del Nuoto on August 13, 2022. Photo by Zsolt Czeglédi/MTI