Double Olympic Champion Kristóf Milák To Be Coached By Álmos Szabó With Eyes On Singapore Worlds
Two-time Olympic champion Kristóf Milák will be coached by Álmos Szabó after he parted ways with his former trainer Balázs Virth following Paris 2024.
Milak won gold in the 100 fly at the Games which followed his silver over 200 where, despite being 0.72 ahead of Leon Marchand at the last turn, he was overhauled by the Frenchman whose 28.97 final 50 guided him into the wall in an Olympic record of 1:51.21, 0.54 ahead of reigning champion Milak who touched in 1:51.75.
The Hungarian had taken a long break from pool training following his withdrawal from the 2023 World Championships to focus on his physical and mental health.
Instead he focused on land work, only returning to the water in early 2024 and even then he missed training sessions which subsequently affected his endurance.
Kristof Milak of Hungary, silver, Leon Marchand of France, gold, and Ilya Kharun of Canada,: Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala, Deepbluemedia
Now he is joining forces with Szabó, who has coached paraswimmers Fanni Illes and Bianka Pap to Paralympic and world titles.
Milak won’t compete at the 2024 World Short-Course Championships in Budapest where he set the 200 fly WR of 1:50.34 at the 2022 worlds in front of an ecstatic crowd at the Duna Arena but instead his focus will be on next year’s World Championships in Singapore.
A statement from the Hungarian Swimming Federation read:
“After the Paris Olympics, the Hungarian Swimming Federation agreed with Kristóf Milák’s association and his employer, Bp. Honvéd, to appoint a contact person who would keep the Olympic champion informed about his preparation, training camp, competition and other needs. With this, the parties wanted to put the turbulent period leading up to the Olympics behind them and at the same time put their relationship on a new footing.
“As a result of transparency and mutual information, the federation can officially confirm that Kristóf Milák intends to prepare for the next competitions under the guidance of Álmos Szabó, and soon a decision will be made on the composition of the entire staff assisting the two-time Olympic champion.
“‘Based on the negotiations, we agreed that Kristóf will not compete at the World Short Course Championships in Budapest in December, his preparation will focus on the 2025 World Championships in Singapore, where he would like to achieve similar results as in 2022, when he last participated in the World Championships,’ said Sándor Wladár, President of MÚSZ in connection with the announcement. He added that Kristóf Milák’s new coach will soon compile a preparation and competition program until next summer, which the federation intends to fully support.
“Álmos Szabó had already supervised Kristóf’s training once, when former master Balázs Virth visited the World Championships in Doha in February with the rest of his team. The specialist was a former swimmer himself; As a coach, he worked for Future SC for a while, and later joined Vasas. There she has been working with para swimmers since 2016, with outstanding results, as her students include Paralympic champions Fanni Illés and Bianka Pap.”