Milak, Hosszu & Cseh (In Breaststroke) Head To ‘4 Nations Meet’

4 NATIONS MEET

• Friday, July 24th – Sunday, July 26th
• Széchy Swimming Arena, Budapest
• 50m (LCM)
• Entries

The inaugural 2020 ‘4 Nations’ Swimming Meet is set to take place from July 24th to July 26th at the Széchy Swimming Arena on Margaret Island in Budapest.

The competition was originally designed to see talent stemming from Austria, Hungary, Germany, and the Czech Republic, but plans have changed since the initial announcement. As we reported early last month, the nation of Germany declined to participate.

Poland has been added to the mix, with the likes of Marcin Cieslak, Filip Zaborowski, Kacper Stokowski and Kacper Majchrzak among the entrants. European Youth Olympic Festival Wiktoria Gusc is also scheduled to race.

Austria’s lineup is stacked with some of its best athletes. Marlene Kahler, Lena Grabowski, Felix Auböck and Christopher Rothbauer are among those expected to take to the Budapest pool in a matter of days.

17-year-old Grabowski logged a new Austrian national standard of 2:10.06 in the 200m back while competing at the FINA World Cup in Berlin.

Entering 2020, both Rothbauer and Kahler made their marks known while competing at the Berlin Open in February. The former notched times of 1:00.53 and 2:09.88, respectively in the men’s 100m and 200m breaststroke events to write his name onto the Austrian record books.

Kahler’s big swim came in the 800m free at the same meet, where the 19-year-old’s 8:32.51 performance established a new national record as well.

For Auböck’s part, the man earned the 1650y freestyle NCAA title while representing the University of Michigan at last year’s NCAA Championships.

The Hungarians will be hard to beat at this meet, however, with the host nation bringing its A-list of competitors. Iron Lady Katinka Hosszu is entered in both IM events, while newly-minted 200m fly world record holder Kristof Milak is set to contest that race, along with two freestyle events and the sprint fly.

Veteran Laszlo Cseh is also one to watch at this meet, with the Olympic icon taking on his usual 100m and 200m fly combo, but also opting for the 100m breast. Cseh’s lifetime best in this off event rests at the 1:05.38 he put up nearly 5 years ago at a domestic meet. That’s his one and only effort represented in the international times databases, so his performance in the 100m breast is rather unpredictable once this meet gets underway.

The Czech Republic entries are unable to be confirmed at this time.

Key entries per nation:

Austria

• Marlene Kahler – 100m/200m/400m free
• Felix Auböck – 200m/400m free
• Lena Grabowski – 50m/100m/200m back
• Christopher Rothbauer – 50m/100m/200m breast
• Bernhard Reitshammer – 50m back, 50m free, 50m breast
• Caroline Pilhatsch – 50m/100m back, 50m fly

Hungary

• Katinka Hosszu – 200m IM & 400m IM
• Laszlo Cseh – 100m breast, 100m/200m fly
• Krisof Milak – 100m/200m free, 50m/100m/200m fly
• Ajna Kesely – 100m/200m/400m free
• Liliana Szilagyi – 50m/100m/200m free, 50m/100m/200m fly
• Zsuzsanna Jakabos – 200m free, 200m fly, 400m IM
• Boglarka Kapas – 100m/200m free, 50m/100m/200m fly
• David Verraszto – 200m/400m IM, 200m breast, 1500m free, 200m back
• Szebasztian Szabo – 50m/100m free, 50m/100m fly

Poland

• Marcin Cieslak – 50m/100m fly, 100m free
• Filip Zaborowski – 200m free
• Kacper Stokowski – 100m fly, 100m free
• Kacper Majchrzak – 100m fly, 50m/100m free
• Wiktoria Gusc – 100m/200m/400m free