USA’s Caeleb Dressel breaks world record to take gold in 100m butterfly, Kristof Milak a close second
Caeleb Dressel picks up his third gold medal at the Tokyo Games at Tokyo Aquatic Centre, breaking his own world record set in Korea in 2019 (49.50) in the 100m butterfly. He was almost caught by Kristof Milak in a ferociously quick dash to the finish.
USA’s Caeleb Dressel secured gold in the men’s 100m butterfly, breaking his own world record with a time of 49.45 seconds.
Hungary’s Kristof Milak broke the European record in silver position, 0.23 seconds behind Dressel (49.68), while Switzerland’s Noe Pointi picked up the nation’s third ever medal in swimming for bronze (50.74).
Dressel got off to a fast start, leading 0.65 seconds ahead of Milak and ROC’s Andrei Minakov at the first turn.
And the 24-year-old Floridian, who had already won gold in the 4x100m freestyle relay and 100m freestyle at this Games, burst into a considerable lead in the second 50m and was motoring ahead of the world record line.
Milak had a late burst in the final 25m, but Dressel would not be caught as the American registered the new record time.
“A couple more metres and I think Milak would have had that,” Lizzie Simmonds said on Eurosport commentary.
“Dressel was leading all the way there. He had an awful finish, he glided miles into the wall and I wondered for a second if Milak had that.
“I don’t think we expected it to be that close, but a very good swim from Milak and fabulous to see the second world record go in an individual event at this Olympic games.”
source (article; video, picture): Eurosport; Men’s 100m Butterfly – SWIMMING, Final Highlights, Olympic Games – Tokyo 2020, Eurosport, Youtube
László Cseh drew a glittering 17-year career to a close by finishing seventh in 200m IM at Tokyo 2020, his fifth Olympic Games
László Cseh outlasted longtime rivals Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte. Now, the six-time Olympic medallist is bidding farewell himself.
The peak of Cseh’s career coincided with Phelps’ dominance. At the 2008 Beijing Games, Cseh lost three times to Phelps, who set world records in winning the 200 IM, 400 IM and 200 butterfly on his way to a historic eight golds.
“It was very fun to race against him and he inspired me to be better,” Cseh said.
Five years ago in Rio, Cseh was denied again. Fittingly, he tied Phelps and South Africa’s Chad le Clos for silver in the 100 fly behind Joseph Schooling of Singapore. It was Phelps’ final race, ending a career in which he won 28 medals, including 23 gold.
Lochte failed to make the U.S. team for Tokyo in what would have been the 36-year-old’s fifth Olympics, leaving the Hungarian as the last man standing in their longtime rivalry.
Cseh swam for the last time in the 200 IM final, 17 years after his Olympic debut in Athens. Fans in Hungary watching at 4 a.m. local time saw him finish seventh in 1 minute, 57.68 seconds — 2.68 seconds behind winner SHUN Wang of China.
“I’m sorry for the time, that it wasn’t better,” he said. “I tried to give my best.”
Cseh had expected to end his career last year in Tokyo, but the coronavirus pandemic postponed the Olympics for a year. It was a difficult year in another way, too. His father, László Sr., died last August at age 68. The elder Cseh was a two-time Olympic swimmer.
The younger Cseh’s wife, Diana, encouraged him to keep training.
“If I stay home and watch some TV, I would really think, ‘Oh, I could have done this,’ and maybe that would be an everlasting anxiousness for me or regret,” he said. “This was the best way to close down because now I’m calm in my mind.”
Cseh earned a spot in lane eight on the far outside of the pool after qualifying with the slowest time.
“I didn’t expect him to be here,” said American Michael Andrew, who was fifth. “It’s an honor to race with him.”
In the final, Cseh was second halfway through, buoyed by his strong butterfly leg, but dropped to seventh over the breaststroke and freestyle legs.
Cseh won numerous world and European championships, and he’s at peace with the four silvers and two bronze medals he won at his first four Olympics.
“Now is the perfect time to close my career, take a rest, and spend a lot of time with my wife.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
source (article; picture): Olympics.com, Tokyo 2020; m4sport.hu, Tokyo 2020
Vocabulary
ferociously dash | ádáz/vad előretörés |
to secure | szerezni |
to get off | elindulni |
to lead ahead of | vezetni valaki előtt |
at the first turn | első fordulónál |
to burst into a considerable lead | jelentős előnyre törni |
to motor ahead | nagyon gyorsan haladni előre |
late burst | késői kitörés |
to register a record | rekordot jegyezni |
to glide | suhanni/siklani |
to wonder | tűnődni valamin |
to expect | elvárni/remélni |
fabulous | legendás |
to outlast | túlélni |
to bid farewell | elbúcsúzni |
peak | csúcs |
to coincide with | egybeesni valamivel |
dominance | uralkodás/fölény |
to inspire | inspirálni/ösztönözni |
to deny | tagadni |
Fittingly | megfelelően/arra alkalmasan |
to tie | döntetlenre játszani |
fly (butterfly) | pillangó (úszás) |
to fail to | elmulasztja valami megtételét |
as the last man standing | az utolsó talpon maradt (játékban)e |
debut | első megjelenése |
to postpone | elhalasztani |
to encourage | ösztönözni/bátorítani |
anxiousness | türelmetlenség/nyugtalanság |
to earn a spot | helyet szerezni |
far outside | messze a túlsó oldalon |
honor | megtiszteltetés |
to buoy | támogatni |
breaststroke | mellúszásos |
at peace with | megbékélve valamivel |
to contribute to | hozzájárulni valamihez |