Following their 2011 National Championship meet, Hungary has become one of the World’s first major swimming nations to announce their pre-qualified 2012 Olympic squad. The requirement was simply that swimmers meet the Olympic “A” qualifying standard (which can be seen here). Thus far, they have 12 swimmesr who have qualified in a number of different events.
For a nation in the situation of one like Hungary, where the elite swimmers can hang with any in the world but depth to challenge those elite is severely lacking, this is a brilliant strategy. Whereas swimmers from other nations will have to force their Olympic Qualifying swims into certain federation-determined meets, these 12 elite Hungarian swimmers can instead plan an “ideal” schedule that fits whatever their training plan may be.
The big names on the list are Laszlo Cseh, who won 3-silvers in Beijing; Daniel Gyurta, the defending World Champion in the 200 breaststroke; Katinka Hosszu, the defending NCAA Swimmer of the Year; Bence Biczo, the teenager who currently sits 2nd in the world in the 200 fly; and Gergo Kis, who is rapidly moving into the world’s distance freestyle sites.
Men
Péter Bernek (200m back)
Bence Biczó (200m fly)
László Cseh (100m fly, 200m fly, 200m IM, 400m IM)
Dániel Gyurta (200m breast)
Gergő Kis (400m free, 1500m free)
Dávid Verrasztó (400m IM)
Women
Katinka Hosszú (200m IM)
Zsuzsanna Jakabos (200m free, 200m fly, 400m IM)
Boglárka Kapás (400m free, 800m free)
Ágnes Mutina (200m free)
Éva Risztov (400m free, 800m free)
Evelyn Verrasztó (200m IM)
