Katinka Hosszu began her run at all 17 individual events at the 2014 Indian Ocean Championships on Sunday on Reunion Island with a perfect 5-for-5 day that included three Meet Records in short course meters competition.
The day started with a win in the 200 free in a record-breaking 1:53.06, beating out French swimmer Charlotte Bonnet (1:54.17) and Cloe Hache (1:58.54) – training partners at Olympic Nice.
Bonnet actually led Hosszu halfway in this race, but Hosszu, using her incredible endurance in the first final of the meet, had a third 50 meters faster than her second, and a fourth 50 meters faster than her third, to pull away for victory.
Next up in the 50 back, Hosszu’s new-found specialty, she set another Meet Record with a 27.02. The runner-up in that race was her fellow Hungarian Evelin Verraszto in 28.47. Verraszto, like Hosszu c. 2012, is primarily an IM’er and butterflier, but her entries at this meet indicate that she might be contemplating a Hosszu-like stroke shift at 25 years old, or at least an effort to improve her backstroke for the sake of her IM races.
In the 200 breaststroke, Hosszu didn’t break a record, but did pick up another win with a 2:22.43. She again beat out Bonnet (2:26.44) for that gold, though it’s not a best event for either swimmer.
Reunion local Geraldine Huffner took 3rd in that event in 2:32.38.
The 100 fly, a race Hosszu didn’t swim at the short Course World Championships earlier this month, was another Katinka victory, swimming a 57.44. That’s a second-and-a-half slower than Hosszu was in the same race at the Salnikov Cup in Russia just before Christmas.
The young French sensation Marie Wattel took 2nd in 58.98. The 17-year old is the fastest French junior in history over short course meters, though this time came up a second short of her best.
Verraszto took 3rd in 59.05.
Closing the day in the 400 IM, Hosszu ran away from the field with her third Meet Record, this one coming in 4:31.65. Nobody else in the field was even close, with Coralie Codevelle taking 2nd place, 21-seconds behind.
The men’s side saw a bigger variety of victories, though it was still mostly the big names who took the titles.
Newly-American Darian Townsend took the opening 200 free in 1:46.58, beating out Theo Fuchs from Amiens in Mainland France – almost a decade Townsend’s junior.
Jeremy Stravius won the men’s 50 backstroke easily in 23.38 – a new Meet Record. Stravius has been battling injury all year long, and that’s a strong return to competition for him. The time is the 6th-best he’s ever been in 50 meters, even with this being his first short course meters meet of 2014.
Shane Tusup, Katinka Hosszu’s husband and coach, was 8th in the final of the 50 back – a year after taking silver in the event.
Stravius later broke a Meet Record later in the evening session with a 51.36 in the 100 fly. That beat out South African Roland Schoeman (52.01).
The day finished with a lifetime best from 20-year old rising Swiss star Jeremy Desplanches in the men’s 400 IM final. Much like Hosszu in the women’s race, he was untouched here (Fuchs was 14 seconds behind him in 4:22.0).
The 4:08.15 that Desplanches swam to win the race improved upon the 4:09.14 done at Short Course Worlds earlier this month as his previous lifetime best and the Switzerland National Record. Desplanches, who is attending this meet with his new training club Olympic Nice, is looking more-and-more like the swimmer who could supplant the recently-retired Dominik Meichtry as his country’s swimming star.
Katinka achieved a new national record in 200m breaststroke. The old one was made by Agnes Kovacs (Bronze M. in Atlanta and Gold M. in Sydney) in 2000.
Now she is the holder of 14 Hungarian record out of the possible 18.
Otherwise her husband and trainer Shane is a really gallant guy, he let Katinka beat him both 50m backstroke yesterday and 100m backstroke today in the morning
(www.liveffn.com)
So I think they are on holiday.
Let’s not beat around the bush. Y’all saying what I think you’re saying? She sippin’ on some special goulash over there or what?
Don’t you think she is not checked by WADA???
As a Hungarian I hope she does not do drugs, I am pretty sure if somebody is checked over and over she must be the one.
Um, everyone who has ever doped has been checked by WADA. I hope she’s clean too–seriously, because she’s an inspiration–but that’s a terrible argument. Testing methodology is sadly imperfect and inconsistent, and that’s why year after year professional athletes continue to get busted.
At any rate, I wasn’t making allegations, just trying to get a sense of what the people here think.
Of course, top sporters can cheat, as the stakes are high. But I think that the probabilty of somebody being caught who is checked the whole year round 3-4 times weekly (since Hosszu is racing all year round) and the probabilty of somebody who is checked only a few weeks before and during races (Kromowidjojo made a comment about not being checked for several months while she skipped the European championships, and just needed to go for control before the WSC in Doha again) then I think that it is way more easy for people who go to only a few races a year to take prohibited substances than for swimmers who go to many races.
Yes Hosszu has… Read more »
Surprised she didn’t break world records.
Show me the money (Ka-ching)