Katinka Hosszu to Compete at Hungarian Nationals Next Week
When Hungarian Nationals get underway Tuesday, a familiar name will be making a return to competition after time away which included giving birth to her first child. Katinka Hosszu, the winner of 97 international medals in her career, will race the 100 butterfly, 200 IM and 400 IM on the domestic level next week, putting into play the possibility that Hosszu could compete at her sixth Olympics this summer.
Hosszu, 34, announced last March that she and husband Máté Gelencsér were expecting a child, and daughter Kamila was born in August. Hosszu had previously indicated that she did not intend to compete at the 2024 Olympics, but it appears her plans may have changed with a return to the pool following childbirth.
During her peak years, Hosszu was unbeatable in the individual medley races. She remains the world-record holder in the 200 IM and held the mark in the 400 IM for almost six years until Summer McIntosh lowered it last year. Hosszu won Olympic gold medals in both IMs as well as the 100 backstroke at the 2016 Olympics, and she won nine individual long course world titles in her career, with four consecutive golds in both IMs from 2013 through 2019 as well as a 400 IM gold in 2009.
However, following the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics due to COVID-19, Hosszu was unable to recapture her top form, falling to fifth in the 400 IM and seventh in the 200 IM at the rescheduled Games.
She won her 97 total international medals between her five Olympics appearances, long course and short course World Championships and long course and short course European Championships. Hosszu last raced internationally at the 2022 European Championships, when she helped Hungary win bronze in the 800 freestyle relay. She was also a finalist in the 200 IM at that meet.