Hubert Kós won European Championship gold in the 200m backstroke on Wednesday night, comfortably beating the field in Paris a day after coming within 0.38 seconds of breaking one of swimming’s longest-standing world records.
The Hungarian Olympic and world champion led throughout the final and touched in 1:53.08, 0.73 seconds ahead of Greece’s Apostolos Siskos, with Italy’s Thomas Ceccon third in 1:53.96. It was Kós’s first European title in the 200m backstroke and the first Hungarian pool-swimming gold of the Paris championships.
Yet the greater expectation surrounding the race came from what Kós had done the day before. In Tuesday’s semi-final, the 23-year-old produced 1:52.30, smashing his own European record and moving to second on the all-time list, just behind Aaron Peirsol’s 1:51.92 world record set in Rome in 2009.
For the first 150 metres, Kós was not simply threatening Peirsol’s record; he was substantially ahead of it. He opened in 25.82 against Peirsol’s 26.52 and reached 100 metres in 53.64, 1.26 seconds inside world-record pace. At the final turn, he was still 0.98 seconds ahead, touching in 1:22.32 compared with Peirsol’s 1:23.30. But Kós paid for the aggressive start over the final length: his last 50 took 29.98, while Peirsol had closed in 28.62, leaving the Hungarian 0.38 seconds short.
The performance caught the attention of Michael Phelps. Responding on social media to Kós’s near miss, one of the greatest Olympians in history wrote simply: ‘It’s coming…’, apparently predicting that the Hungarian would break Peirsol’s 17-year-old record in the final.
Phelps’s attention towards Kós is not new. The American swimming legend has been following the Hungarian’s progress for at least two years, since Kós won Olympic gold in the 200m backstroke, similarly in Paris, in 2024. ‘Good swim, bro,’ Phelps congratulated Kós at the time.
The two have a crucial connection between them, namely coach Bob Bowman, who coached Phelps throughout his extraordinary career and now coaches Kós at the University of Texas. Kós began working with Bowman in the United States in 2023 and won his first world 200m backstroke title only months later, calling his rapid improvement the ‘Bob Bowman effect’. Bowman has specifically credited improvements in Kós’s underwater work, turns and understanding of speed.
The progress since then has been considerable. Kós became world champion in 2023, Olympic champion in Paris in 2024 and defended his world title in Singapore last year with a then-European record of 1:53.19. In short-course swimming, he went even further in 2025, setting world records in both the 100m backstroke at 48.16 and the 200m at 1:45.12 while winning the overall World Cup title.
‘His final 50 again proved decisive, taking 30.14 seconds and leaving him at 1:53.08’
Wednesday’s final showed that the world-record chase remains unfinished. Kós deliberately opened more conservatively, reaching halfway in 54.11, but was still 0.36 seconds inside Peirsol’s record at 150 metres with a 1:22.94 split. His final 50 again proved decisive, taking 30.14 seconds and leaving him at 1:53.08.
Afterwards, Kós said he was pleased with the European title but admitted to some disappointment over the record. He also revealed the closeness of the Bowman–Phelps connection, saying the two speak frequently and that Phelps had presumably heard plenty about ‘this Hungarian kid’ through his former coach.
Kós said he now wants to attack the record ‘without fear’ and hopes the breakthrough will instead come at the 2027 World Championships in Budapest.
Related articles:
At a time when public debate is increasingly polarized and superficial, Hungarian Conservative remains committed to depth, intellectual honesty, and independent conservative thought.
Producing high-quality journalism requires resources. Your contribution helps us expand our coverage, reach new audiences, and keep our content accessible.
Please consider supporting our mission.
