Watch Michael Phelps’ World Record Get Shattered by 19-Year-Old Kristof Milak of Hungary

Kristof Milak swims the 200 fly at the World Championships. Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant

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The dominance of Michael Phelps is without question, making the fact that one of his longest-held world records being broken all the more stunning.

Hungary’s Kristof Milak is well on his way to swimming stardom after his latest masterpiece.

Milak crushed the world record in the 200 fly on Wednesday night at the 2019 FINA World Swimming Championships in Gwangju, South Korea. Milak, 19, won the race in 1:50.73 to lower Phelps’ world record of 1:51.51 from 2009. It is the first time someone not named Phelps has held the world record in the men’s 200 fly since 2000.

It is the first world record of Milak’s career and it is the fourth time the world record has been broken at the World Championships. Mel Stewart broke the WR in 1991 (1:55.26) while Phelps broke it in 2001 (1:54.58), 2007 (1:52.09) and 2009 (1:51.51). Phelps also broke the world record in the semifinals in 2003 at 1:53.93.

Milak was out under world record pace through 150 meters, similar to what he did at the European Championships in 2018. But this time Milak held on to break the world record, and then some, knocking nearly a full second off of the record set by Phelps 10 years ago.

200 Fly Results:

1:50.73, Kristof Milak, HUN, WR
1:53.86, Daiya Seto, JPN
1:54.15, Chad Le Clos, RSA
1:54.39, Federico Burdisso, ITA
1:54.79, Denys Kesyl, UKR
1:55.69, Zach Harting, USA
1:55.96, Leonardo De Deus, BRA
1:57.10, Tamas Kenderesi, HU

Former world record: Michael Phelps, 1:51.51, 2009.

Full results can be found here.

The early leader was Chad Le Clos, who was the reigning World Champion from 2017, and has plenty of history racing Phelps. Le Clos was out under world record pace at 52.55 but had the slowest final 50 in the field at 31.51. He won the bronze medal at 1:54.15 as Japan’s Daiya Seto (1:53.86) won his first 200 fly Worlds medal with the silver.

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