2026 European Swimming Championships
- August 10-16, 2026
- Paris, France — Olympic Aquatics Centre
- LCM (50 Meters)
- Meet Information
- Meet Central
There might be a rift growing within the Hungarian swimming team just one week before the European Aquatics Championships kick off in Paris.
Reigning Olympic and world champion Hubert Kos put Kristof Milak on blast in an interview with national outlet M4Sport, essentially calling his countryman selfish due to him reportedly opting not to contest the Hungarian relays at Euros.
“I’m looking forward to the relays, we want to be on the podium. If we have a Kristof Milak, who knows how much he’s trained and can still swim the world’s best time in the 100 butterfly, then we could be capable of anything,” Kos said in the interview, translated from Hungarian.
Although there is no official confirmation, Kos intimates that Milak will forgo the relays at the competition, or at least pick and choose them depending on his schedule.
“Together with Nandor Nemeth and Kristof Milak, we could even (field a strong team in) the 4×100 medley relay with a mediocre breaststroker. I think if Kristof started now and we added Zsombor (Petroczki) as the breaststroker, we could have a gold medal. One person is not enough for this, three or four would be needed, I’m sad about that. We’re trying to achieve a good result with the 4×100 relay.”
Due to the Hungarians not having a breaststroker on the team, there’s a chance the federation doesn’t even enter the men’s 4×100 medley relay, according to Hungarian reports.
Kos referenced the difference in philosophy between his native Hungary and where he trains and lives now in the United States, where, especially in the NCAA, relays are the most important thing, not an afterthought.
“I feel that someone truly becomes a legend when they can rally a team around them. This is a lost opportunity that could have been established now,” Kos said. “We would have had a chance to medal even at the Paris Olympics, because Kristof is simply so good that we put him in last and he will beat whoever is next to him. So, of course, I’m sorry, and we hope that this will change someday.
“We all know that Kristof works differently and follows different paths, but that doesn’t take away from how much talent he has. The fact that he doesn’t take on relays doesn’t take away from his talent either, it’s just sad, and it actually shows that he only thinks about himself and not the team.”
Milak’s last Instagram post from August 2024 is of him and Kos together, with the caption “champions,” after they both won gold at the Paris Olympics.
View this post on Instagram
At the 2022 European Championships, Milak helped guide the Hungarian men to gold in the 4×200 free relay and silver in the 4×100 free relay.
Since then, between the 2024 Euros and 2024 Olympics, the only two major international competitions he’s contested, Milak hasn’t had any relay swims.
As for his own expectations, Kos stated that despite winning Olympic gold, two LC world titles and one SC world title in the 200 back, the European title still eludes him and is one he covets greatly.
“The European Championships are a very big competition, regardless of the fact that I won the World Championships and the Olympics. I can finally (rest up) and swim at max speed, I’m really looking forward to it, but at the same time I’m trying out new events to clean up my program for next year’s World Championships and the 2028 Olympics.
“I can’t just stay in the 200 backstroke because I’m an Olympic and world champion in the event, but I haven’t won the European Championships yet, so I definitely have to win there, I’m also starting the competition with something that’s never been done before. It’s frustrating that I don’t have a European Championship victory yet, but I’m trying to focus on myself and consciously build up the three swims.”
He noted that coach Bob Bowman has continuously told him he’s capable of breaking Aaron Peirsol‘s longstanding world record in the event, but Kos knows he’s still got a ways to go to get there, and said 2028 is his ultimate target. He’ll take on an expanded event lineup in Paris, and though the specific entries are currently unknown, the M4 Sport report indicated he’ll be racing the 200 fly.
As for Milak, he withdrew from the 2025 World Championships last year due to what his coach said was a lack of motivation. After a year away from competition, he returned to action at the Hungarian Championships this past April, setting new best times in the 50 free (21.76) and 50 fly (23.03) while hitting a world-leading time in the 100 fly (50.22).
At the Sette Colli Trophy in Rome, he broke the Hungarian Record in the 50 fly (22.86) while posting impressive times in the 100 free (47.89) and 100 fly (50.47).
As for the 200 fly, the race in which he’s the current world record holder and four-time defending European champion, Milak withdrew from the final of the event at the Hungarian Championships in April and hasn’t raced it since, indicating it’s unlikely he swims it at Euros.
Regardless of who you sympathize with, Milak just needs to be with a new country at this point.
also being medal contenders sounds like a stretch, they’d need a solid breaststroker to compete with the likes of Russia, France, Italy and Great Britain
Kos doesn’t know that swimming is an individual sport and Milak isn’t trying to become a relay merchant like Jenny Thompson.
Swimmers like all other athletes in individual sports are searching for individual glory, the ones that love relays are the ones who know they have no chance to do anything individually.
I remember Michael Andrew and Freya Anderson said on different podcasts circa 2 years ago that they felt weird calling themselves Olympic champions, when they didn’t do it themselves individually. MA even went on to say that he felt like an hypocrite writing oly champ in his IG bio.
It might not be so absolute, but this is 90% of the cases.
Not on this matter specifically, but reading Kos’ interviews previously, it always feels to me that he’s kind of an idealist. It is not a bad thing, but you can’t be so mad about people being more realistic. People like him who grew up in a pretty wealthy family detach from reality sometimes.
Wanting Hungary’s best butterflier to swim on their medley relay is a pretty realistic ask, though.
Wanting Milak to swim the relay is realistic, but the way he put it is not quite.
which podcast was this on? MA specifically. i am interested in listening to that
now why is jenny thompson catching strays ?? and since when has relay success ever come at the cost of individual success for swimmers like Milak who can achieve it? vast majority of individual olympic champions from non-tiny nations are putting in a shift on multiple relays.
argument re not being true olympic champions might be fair enough for prelims swimmers who wouldn’t have been quick enough to have brought the same result in the final, but that’s really a fairly rare circumstance and not applicable to milak
What did you expect from someone like Kos who glazes Cristiano Penaldo and who’s favorite team is Real Vardrid ?
People who follow these type of teams usually have massive inflated egos and are out of touch with reality.
I understand Hubi’s frustration if Milak really decides not to swim relays at the Euros, but bashing him like that is a little unfair, isn’t it?
Milak has contributed much more for Hungary’s relays than Hubi so far. All three men’s relay national records have Milak’s name on it but none of them has Hubi’s. Milak carried Hungarian men’s team to their only European championships relay gold of the century. Milak was on Hungarian men’s highest placed relay ever at the Olympics.
I would choose my wording more carefully if I were him.
Until 2 years ago, Hubert was a 200/400 IMer, don’t think they have relays for those events yet. Meanwhile Milak’s been on the international level since 2017
Yes, but what I said is still true. Hubi is not well qualified enough yet to go to the extreme of denying Milak’s relay contributions.
Milák has long suffered mental exhaustion and huge internal friction from training, and his competition choices should be respected. It’s questionable whether Kós ought to judge him publicly from the standpoint of team interests
I’ve noticed anyone that works with Bowman has their egos raised much higher. Hope Summer doesn’t turn out to be like this
Milak >>>> Kos
I don’t really see Summer swimming the Canadian relays from now on, and honestly who would blame her, they’ve kind of got no chance of sniffing a medal. In Milak’s case, I feel like him not swimming the relays is just in retailiation to his frustrations with the federation, which he’s more than entitled to have.
It would be a crime for Swimming Canada if they put her on relays to affect her chance at 5 golds. They won’t do it as long as they have sense.
Of course it is the case. When you are on a US relay, you got at least 80% chance of winning a medal, but if you are on a Hungarian relay, the chance is like 10%? 5%? To put it more bluntly, for many US swimmers, relays are their best or even only opportunities to get an Olympic medal.
It’s not uncommon for swimmers from smaller countries to let go of the relays to focus on individual events, and it is for the best sake… Read more »
Milak is swimming for the 100 WR. Hubi is strange, in this case too much talking. And of course he is very far from Kristof.
I know you are Hungarian so you must know better than me, but I’m personally conservative on the WR claim.
Milak and Kos have their seperate considerations and both could be reasonable. The only thing that surprises me is that he really spoke this out publicly lol. Hungarians are all so blunt?
Me not 😉
He wont get it
49.90 with 3-4 months training.