"That shook me more than anything else" - Michael Phelps recalls Kristof Milak smashing his 200m butterfly world record

Michael Phelps remembered the time when Kristof Milak broke his world record in the 200m butterfly. Kristoff Milak achieved this during the 2019 World Aquatics Championships held in Gwangju, South Korea. He won a gold medal by setting a world record of 1:50:73. The Hungarian swimmer happened to break the record after 10 years by 0.78 seconds.

Michael Phelps is currently attending and commentating at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. In an interview with World Aquatics, Michael Phelps recalled the world record-breaking moment. He said it shook him as it was implausible that the record would be broken that soon.

"When Kristof broke the 200 fly world record in 2019, that shook me more than anything else - because I didn't think that one would be broken for a while," Michael Phelps said.

23-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps said he had witnessed many of his world records being broken over the years.

"I had the opportunity to watch a lot of my World Records fall over the years. (At a point I had half of them:) 200 free, 100 fly, 200 fly, 200 IM, 400 IM and three relays," he said.

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What's next for Kristof Milak after pulling out of World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka?

Kristof Milak after setting a new world record in the 200m butterfly final in the 2019 FINA World Championship at Nambu International Aquatics Centre in Gwangju, South Korea

Kristof Milak had pulled out of the ongoing World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. The 23-year-old admitted that he is not in good physical and mental condition to compete at the Championships.

The Hungarian swimmer has been a world champion thrice. He competes in the freestyle, butterfly, and backstroke events. Kristof Milak has won two gold medals in the 200m butterfly in the years 2019 and 2022; and a gold and a silver in 100m butterfly in the World Championships in 2022 and 2017, respectively.

The world champion has also had remarkable success in European Championships. He has a total of six gold medals in the 100m butterfly, 200m butterfly, and 4x200m freestyle. Milak had a stunning career in the Youth Olympics as well. He won four medals at the 2018 Youth Olympics held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, out of which three are gold and one is silver.

The Hungarian swimmer gave a remarkable performance in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He won a gold medal in the 200m butterfly and a silver in the 100m butterfly event and became an Olympic champion. The Olympian will be seen competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics.