Katinka Hosszu of Hungary has set the new world record for the 400-metre Individual Medley, winning gold with a time of 4:26.36 – more than five seconds ahead of silver winner Madeline Dirado of the U.S.A.
The 27-year-old who, called the ‘Iron Lady’, had completed the prelims with the second fastest speed of the women’s 400 IM – 4.28.58. This gold is Hosszu’s first career Olympic medal in her fourth Olympic appearance since 2004. This is the second Olympic swimming record that has been broken at the Rio Olympics.
Trending
Hosszu’s nickname comes from her incredible ability to swim in multiple events in the course of short time spans during championships. In the 2015 World Championships in Kazan, for instance, she competed in the 200 meter IM, 100-metre backstroke, 200-metre freestyle, 200-metre butterfly, 100-metre freestyle, 200-metre backstroke and 400-metre IM – winning nine medals, five of which were gold.
While Hosszu started off with her traditional buildup with the butterfly stroke, she soon emerged significantly more powerful till a point came where she was competing not with the other swimmers but simply with the world record line.
In the 2012 London Olympics, the women’s 400-metre came under the spotlight of controversy when 16-year-old Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen broke the record and won gold with a time of 4:28.43. Her last 50-metre split was completed within 28.93 seconds – which was faster than Ryan Lochte who won the men’s 400 IM – prompting speculation on whether she had taken performance-enhancing drugs. Hosszu has not only broken this ‘infamous’ record now, but she has also beaten the record holder. Ye Shiwen ranked 27th in the heats with a disappointing time of 4:45.86.
