Katinka Hosszu Closes Nationals With Title Trifecta; Nine Golds

DEBRECEN, Hungary, June 29. THE Hungarian Queen Katinka Hosszu nearly made it double digits in terms of victories at the Hungarian Nationals held this week in Debrecen.

Hosszu collected her seventh gold medal of the meet with a near-season-best time of 1:57.35 in the women's 200-meter freestyle. The Queen of the World Cup series just missed her ninth-ranked time of 1:57.14 from the Mare Nostrum circuit, putting her in position for a potentially special swim at the World Championships. Evelyn Verraszto took second in 1:59.49, while Boglarka Kapas finished third in 2:00.13.

Hosszu's incredible eighth national title came by way of the women's 100-meter fly with a 59.46 to 59.79 triumph ahead of Verraszto. Nikolett Federics took home third-place honors in 1:02.97. Hosszu then completed a sterling trifecta with her ninth national title as she went 2:11.85 in the women's 200-meter back. She finished ahead of Indiana Hoosier Dorina Szekeres (2:13.04) and Verraszto (2:14.83).

Miroslava Najdanovski touched in 25.91 to capture the women's 50-meter freestyle title, while Adrienne Santa (26.18) and Fanni Pataki (26.33) earned second and third-place honors in the splash-and-dash. Kapas completed a distance free sweep with a 16:33.51 to win the women's 1500-meter free. Flora Sibalin (16:45.84) and Anna Olasz (16:50.38) placed second and third.

Olympic champion Chad Le Clos showed definite signs of heavy training prior to his taper next month for Worlds as he suffered his second defeat in two days. Last night, the reigning gold medalist took a loss in the 200-meter fly to Bence Biczo. Today, Le Clos lost to Krisztian Takacs in the men's 100-metr free, 49.39 to 49.43. Peter Holoda wound up third in 50.58.

Reka Gyorgy took home the women's 200-meter IM title in 2:15.07, while Dalma Sebestyen (2:18.54) and Fanni Ferenczi (2:20.78) earned second and third. Sebestyen returned in the women's 100-meter breast with a winning time of 1:11.87. Reka Pecz (1:12.51) and Eszter Torok (1:12.67) placed second and third.

David Horvath topped the men's 200-meter breaststroke in 2:15.30 with Gabor Financsek (2:15.27) and Artur Osvath (2:18.24) posting second and third-place finishes. Peter Bernek clocked a 55.04 for the men's 100-meter back triumph, while Gabor Balog (55.27) and Richard Bohus (55.67) rounded out the podium.

Laszlo Cseh picked up his first win of the week with a 1:58.60 in the men's 200-meter IM as the Olympian continues to toil after several years in Michael Phelps' shadow. The big question for Cseh is whether he will be able to step it up in Barcelona with Phelps in retirement. David Verraszto (2:03.42) and David Foldhazi (2:03.66) picked up second and third. Cseh doubled up later in the evening with a 24.31 in the men's 50-meter fly. Bence Pulai (24.55) and Adam Telegdy (24.98) also cleared 25 seconds to finish second and third.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use