It didn’t take long for Katinka Hosszu to decide that breaking the world record in the 200 individual medley once in a day wasn’t enough for her. Just 7.5 hours after setting a new world standard in prelims at the 2013 FINA World Cup stop at Eindhoven, Hosszu dropped an additional second in finals to set a new record of 2:03.20.
With that swim, Hosszu becomes the first woman to ever break 2:04 in the 200 SCM Individual Medley. She was a full three seconds ahead of Australia’s Emily Seebohm, who finished in 2:06.24 for second, and Hungary’s Zsuzsanna Jakabos who rounded out the top three with a 2:06.29.
Comparative Splits:
Hosszu Prelims: 27.09, 31.28, 36.50, 29.52 = 2:04.39
Hosszu Finals: 26.69, 30.89, 36.23, 29.39 = 2:03.20
Hosszu’s ability to improve on all four legs from a world record really shows off her versatility, and her standing as the premier all-around swimmer on the women’s side. Just last week, Hosszu won both the 200 LCM and 400 LCM individual medley races at the World Championships in Barcelona, Spain. In addition to the win in the 200 individual medley tonight, she also added a second place finish in the 200 freestyle (1:52.32), where she was just edged out by Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom, who has also been red-hot in the pool as of late. Hosszu also competed in the 200 meter backstroke, and finished 5th (2:03.04).
Tomorrow, Hosszu will compete in the 400 individual medley, the 100 individual medley, and the 200 meter butterfly. She is the top seed in all three events.