{"id":626019,"date":"2025-11-08T18:53:24","date_gmt":"2025-11-09T01:53:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=626019"},"modified":"2025-11-08T18:53:24","modified_gmt":"2025-11-09T01:53:24","slug":"david-betlehem-completes-distance-treble-wins-points-trophy-at-hungarian-championships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/david-betlehem-completes-distance-treble-wins-points-trophy-at-hungarian-championships\/","title":{"rendered":"D\u00e1vid Betlehem\u00a0Completes Distance Treble & Wins Points Trophy At Hungarian Championships"},"content":{"rendered":"

D\u00e1vid Betlehem\u00a0Completes Distance Treble & Wins Points Trophy At Hungarian Championships<\/h4>\n

D\u00e1vid Betlehem\u00a0<\/strong>and Ajna Kesely<\/strong> each completed the distance treble as the Hungarian Short Course Championships concluded in Debrecen.<\/p>\n

Betlehem, who won Olympic 10k bronze in Paris last year, won the 800 free on the fourth and final day for the triple. He clocked 7:41.89 to add the title to his 14:27 1500 rankings-topper when he became the first man inside 14:30 this year and his 400 gold (3:41.78).<\/p>\n

He also claimed the 4×100 and 4×200 free titles with FTC to make it five golds in total with the standout 1500 earning him 930 points and the crown for top male performance.<\/p>\n

Betlehem was well outside the Hungarian record of 7:29.50 set by Zal\u00e1n S\u00e1rk\u00e1ny<\/strong> at the World Cup in Westmont last month as fatigue played a part but he looked ahead to the short-course Europeans in Lublin, Poland, next month.<\/p>\n

“It wasn’t in my mind that I would compete here with Zal\u00e1n (S\u00e1rk\u00e1ny’s) time,” he said through the Hungarian Federation. “At the beginning, yes, if not around 7:29, then maybe around 7:33. There was nothing there in the end, because I was very tired. But the good thing about this is that I swim things that I don’t usually do, whether it feels good or not. At 300, something broke, but I needed the time, and it’s already official that I’m going to the European Championships, so I have a tough four weeks ahead of me.”<\/p>\n

Kesely won the women’s event in 8:23.65 following victories in the 400 (4:05.35) and 1500 (16:04.08). She joined\u00a0Eszter Szab\u00f3-Felt\u00f3thy,<\/strong> Kincs\u0151 Szab\u00f3<\/strong> and Ajsa Kiss<\/strong> to anchor the FTC women’s 4×2 relay to gold in 8:05.15.<\/p>\n

It’s a welcome return to competition for Kesely who missed most of the summer due to injury.<\/p>\n

She said: “The one-week joint open water training camp with D\u00e1vid Betlehem, led by L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Szokolai, helped me a lot \u2013 it added a lot to my preparation, and I thank them for the opportunity. I hope I can take this to the European Championships, which I am really looking forward to, because it has been a long time since I swam in an international competition, and what happened here is a good omen.”<\/p>\n

Panna Ugrai’s<\/strong> 1:54.98 200 free which earned her 883pts was the top female performance. On the final day, she added the 100IM title in 1:00.17, Ugrai also leaving Debrecen with the 100 free title.<\/p>\n

G\u00e1bor Zombori<\/strong> concluded the meet with five titles, sweeping the IM treble with victory in the 100 in 52.74. He also won the 100\/200 breaststroke double.<\/p>\n

\u00c1d\u00e1m J\u00e1sz\u00f3<\/strong> took his World Cup momentum into Debrecen with four titles. He won the 200 back on Saturday in 1:53.04 for a clean sweep of the backstroke events as he took full advantage of the absence of Olympic and world champion Hubert K\u00f3s. <\/strong>He also won the 100 free title on the opening day with Debrecen the most successful national championship of his career.<\/p>\n

Lora Komor\u00f3czy<\/strong> won a gold medal every day: first in the 50 and 100 backstroke, then in the 50 and 100 butterfly, the latter in 58.10.<\/p>\n

Eszter Szab\u00f3-Felt\u00f3thy<\/strong> won the 200 back\u00a0 in 2:06.67 to add to her IM double with a fourth gold courtesy of the BVSC 4×2 free.<\/p>\n

Oliv\u00e9r G\u00e1l<\/strong> won the men’s 50 breast in 27.02 with Henrietta F\u00e1ngli<\/strong> taking the women’s title in 30.40.<\/p>\n