After SC World Record, Can Tomoru Honda Close Gap On Kristof Milak In 200 Butterfly?

After SC World Record, Can Tomoru Honda Close Gap On Kristof Milak In 200 Butterfly?

In its current state, the landscape of the men’s 200-meter butterfly is a one-man realm. This world belongs to Kristof Milak, the Hungarian star who is the reigning Olympic champion and has claimed the past two global titles in the event. More, Milak has taken the world record to 1:50.34, territory that once seemed unreachable.

Not only is Milak more than a second faster than the No. 2 performer in history, a guy named Michael Phelps, the 22-year-old stormed to the world title over the summer by three-plus seconds. With the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris now less than two years away, it would take a monumental charge for someone to deny Milak an Olympic repeat.

Although individual dominance in an event is deeply appreciated, multi-athlete duels define the sport, and a rival to Milak would elevate intrigue in the 200 butterfly. Over the weekend, Japan’s Tomoru Honda took a step toward challenging the Hungarian when he clocked a world record in the short-course version of the discipline. Racing at the Japan Short Course Championships, Honda went 1:46.85 to destroy the previous standard of 1:48.24, held by countryman Daiya Seto.

Of course, short-course competition is vastly different from action in the big pool, but Honda has proven himself in both formats and the first world record of his career suggests growth. The No. 11 performer of all-time in the long-course version of the 200 fly, Honda was the Olympic silver medalist to Milak at the Tokyo Games and followed last summer with a bronze medal at the World Championships. Now, he’s storming toward the FINA World Short Course Championships in Melbourne, slated for December.

At one point, it was difficult to see Phelps challenged in his events, especially the 200 individual medley and 400 individual medley. Eventually, though, Ryan Lochte reached a level in which he became the world-record holder in the shorter medley and captured the Olympic crown in the 400 medley at the 2012 Games in London. So, a blueprint exists for narrowing a massive gap – and a chasm it what currently exists between Milak and the competition.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if Milak maintained his authority on the 200 butterfly, particularly as he threatens the 1:50 barrier. But if nothing else, Honda has provided hope that a contender exists.

A world record – of any kind – will elicit such a possibility.

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