Hungarian swimmer Kristóf Milák (21) won the second gold medal for his country in the men’s 200m butterfly final, but in the pictures taken after the race, there is not a trace of joy on his decidedly disappointed expression. The reason? Although his win achieved a new Olympic record time, he fell short of the world record he was after by a mere half a second.
“I wasted so much strength and energy on my pants that (I assumed) this wouldn’t be a world record – so I just finished the race,” Milák said afterwards.
He had several small equipment malfunctions before and during the race – his swimming trunk tore just before the race, while during the event itself, his cap and part of his goggles also broke down.
“The little things – the cap being torn, the stems of the goggles being torn – they leave their mark on swimming because one loses concentration. But I’m not disappointed – that’s just how things worked out,” Milák said.
For his part, Milák’s trainer Attila Selmeci looked downright angry upon seeing his pupil’s time of 1:51:25, just 0.52 seconds behind the world record (which, incidentally, is also his).
His expression after the win is already an instant meme on social media.
Milák is aiming for another victory in the 100m butterfly men’s final. His victory brings the Hungarian medals tally to two golds and one silver, placing the country 11th in the rankings.
Title image: 200m men’s butterfly Olympic gold winner Kristóf Milák (R) and fifth-placed South African Chad le Clos after the final. (MTI/Tamás Kovács)
