Boglarka Kapas Breaks Katinka Hosszu’s Hungarian Record in the 400 Fre

• 2016 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY 7
• Monday, May 16th – Sunday, May 22nd
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• Finals: 6:00 PM (London Time) / 1:00 PM (Eastern Time)
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Hungarian distance swimmer Boglarka Kapas has crushed Katinka Hosszu‘s National Record in the 400 meter freestyle on the final day of the 2016 European Championships.

Kapas swam a 4:03.47 to close the individual portion of her schedule. That beats out Katinka Hosszu‘s 4:05.51 from the 2014 Mare Nostrum meet as the fastest time ever done by a Hungarian.

Previously, Kapas had been the 2nd-fastest Hungarian in history. Her previous lifetime best was a 4:05.61 in the 400 free at the 2013 World Championships.

Kapas’ new swim represented a seismic shift for her. She frequently opens her 100 free in better than a minute, but in the past that’s always led to an immediate drop on the 2nd 100 that she’s been unable to recover from to this extent. On Sunday, instead she built the rest of her 400, and while she wasn’t as fast as the runner-up Jazz Carlin on the last 100, the relative closing speed is newfound for Kapas.

Hosszu’s National Record count is now reduced to 9 in long course and 17 in short course meters. That means she still holds over half of the 17 recognized senior National Records in long course.

The swim ranks Kopas 2nd in the world in 2016, behind only American Katie Ledecky, who will only be upset in Rio by disaster in the 400 or 800 freestyles.

Kapas won the 400, 800, and 1500 meter freestyles in long course in addition to a 4th gold medal won as part of Hungary’s 800 free relay. At last year’s World Championships, she placed 8th in the 400 free, 6th in the 800 free, and 3rd in the 1500 free.