Boglarka Kapas put a bow on her competitive swimming career with a “goggle drop” at the conclusion of the World Short Course Swimming Championships last week in Budapest.
The 31-year-old planned this meet, in front of a home crowd, as her finale after 26 years in the pool.
She said in an Instagram post (translated from Hungarian):
“and phew, this too has vanished..26 years, in the blink of an eye! and here I am, writing these lines, of course in tears. the past two and a half decades have shaped me into who I am today, but I believe that whatever happened in the past, the future is always more important. deepest gratitude and thanks to everyone who was a part of this chapter, without you I wouldn’t have had a chance.
and of course: thank you SWIMMING, you were good to me.
forever ❤️
Kapas finished her career at the World Championships by finishing 17th in the 400 free, 14th in the 200 fly, and 16th in the 400 IM. While she never won a World Championship medal in short course, she has two in long course: a 200 fly gold from 2019 and a 1500 free bronze from 2015. She also scored Olympic bronze in the 800 free in Rio in 2016.
In addition, she has eight European Championships and two Youth Olympic Games gold medals.
In 2011, she was named the Hungarian Swimmer of the Year; in 2012 she was awarded the Bronze Cross of Merit of Hungary, which was upgraded to a Golden Cross four years later.
A beloved figure in her home country, the Hungarian Swimming Federation hosted a tearful goodbye for her in October at the Hungarian Short Course Championships. That included the attendance of Károly Szita, Mayor of Kaposvár and member of the MÚSZ, who presented Kapas with flowers and gave a speech after the 400 IM.
She is married to fellow Hungarian Olympian Adam Talegdy, who is continuing with his career toward the Los Angeles Olympic Games.
I like the “dropping the goggles”.
Yes, totally iconic way to say “The End”.