They have spoken of his back-end excellence, with Bowman extolling Milak’s technique. Throughout his rise, Milak has elicited plaudits and respect from Phelps and his longtime coach, Bob Bowman. It was on my face and it was no longer that easy to do what I wanted to do.” “When that happens to a swimmer, it could be the goggles, or suit, but just prior to a race, it can destroy your focus, absolutely. “At that moment I knew that the world record was gone, because I was totally off focus. “My suit tore 10 minutes before the start of the race, just before entering the call room,” Milak said. The only thing that could slow him down, he said, was a slight suit malfunction before the race. He now owns the four-fastest marks of all-time and six of the top-10, with Phelps possessing the other four. At the wall, Milak had produced his latest masterpiece. It was going to take a little under two minutes for Milak to etch himself as an Olympic champion, and every stroke by the Hungarian was delivered with efficiency and intent. The final, then, was his moment to dazzle. Although still holding back, Milak earned the top seed for the final by nearly three seconds, a message sent to his opposition: You are racing for silver. He eased his way through the preliminaries, posting the top time by nearly a second, only to enhance his effort during the semifinal round. The way Milak approached the three rounds of his prime event was measured. Simply, there is no one in the world who can match his combination of endurance and power over the back half. A few strokes into the third lap, Milak was in front and expanded his advantage through the finish. Milak was out in 24.48 and turned at the 100-meter mark in 53.48, good for third place. Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher/USA Today SportsĬapturing an Olympic crown was merely the next objective, and Milak – COVID-19 delay be damned – went emphatic Sharpie to his to-do list checkbox. In 2019, behind a world-record performance that erased Michael Phelps’ name from the ledger, Milak claimed the first world title of his career. There was gold in the 200 fly at the 2017 World Junior Championships, followed by a championship in the event at the next year’s Youth Olympic Games. The 21-year-old Milak has seemingly been destined for what he accomplished at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, his career arc an example of a finely drafted blueprint. Italy’s Federico Burdisso picked up bronze in 1:54.45. Milak claimed the gold medal by 2.48 seconds, an eternity, with Japan’s Tomoru Honda grabbing silver from Lane Eight in 1:53.73. The Hungarian allowed the opposition to hang around for the first half of the race, but used his unmatched finishing power to prevail in an Olympic-record time of 1:51.25, a half-second off his world record of 1:50.73. Managing the third-fastest time in history, Milak obliterated the field in the 200-meter butterfly at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. On the biggest stage in the sport, multiple athletes jockeying for the podium is the norm, a mistake here or an error there determining the height of one’s step, or absence from the medals ceremony.Ĭount Kristof Milak in the done-deal category. To celebrate what went down in the Japanese capital, Swimming World is revisiting the championship finals – each on their one-year anniversary – by once again running the stories that were posted after the medals were decided.įew Olympic finals – if any, some years – are already-know-the-outcome affairs. One year has passed since the Olympic Games, delayed by a year due to COVID-19, unfolded in Tokyo. Tokyo Flashback: Hungary’s Kristof Milak Blasts Field For Gold in 200 Butterfly
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