László Cseh: I wish everyone this many Olympics and an ending so beautiful

– Did you wake up smiling, or maybe sentimental?
–After waking up, I got a little emotional, yes – László Cseh replied to a question from Nemzeti Sport. I realized that ‘Wow, this is my last swim... As I got older, I got a bit emotional, too. It touched me — but not in the wrong way; it felt good.

– Did you swim uninhibitedly afterward?
–I tried to give it my all. I felt the butterfly and the backstroke went well; I just knew my breaststroke wasn't that good... The start was fine, I tried to swim a little differently in breaststroke because I knew I wouldn't amount to much with yesterday's performance. Well, that didn't work either. If I had a year or two left, I'm sure I'd improve... I feel bad that the time didn't get any better, but every swim and final is different, so I'm happy for the seventh place. I've improved a little which is a progress!

He didn't mix his protein shake

– What do you take away from this Olympics?
–The fact that I can quit swimming easily is very important. Before my race started, I realized I could be grateful to be here because it was a way of closing it all down. If I'd watched this on TV at home, I'm sure I would've been angry with myself saying ‘I can achieve this result, too. Why am I not there?!' I would've thought about it for the rest of my life, but I could actually close it down. Even before the Olympics started, this was a very important step.

– You've ended your career with a beautiful final!
–Yes, with a beautiful one, but I can still be a little dissatisfied: the time wasn't so good.

– You don't change in that!
–I do because I'm smiling now!

– Have you done anything differently now than ever before?
–No. Or rather one thing: I didn't mix my protein shake because I knew there was no reason to. At least I deserved this much...

– So, did you skip your cooling down, too?
– No, I have to do that, otherwise, I'd be sick for days. I just don't have to worry about how I'm regenerating or how I'm going to start preparing in September. All I have to do is think about not getting up at 5am in September.

– Maybe a little medley relay?
–Oh, there are betters ones than me.

– We don't have breaststroke swimmers.
–But I can't do breaststroke well either!

He overcame what he'd been told

– How would you sum up your career?
– Wow... I wish everyone this many Olympics and an ending so beautiful! I don't really feel what I've accomplished over the years. I'm just starting to realize very slowly that not only bad performances happened, like a fifth place, but a lot of nice results. However, I tend to sweep them under the rug and deal only with what's not good enough. I didn't feel how many amazing results I achieved.

– Why were you so focused on the negatives?
– I'm afraid that's what they told me: if you're good, it's natural, but if you're bad, you're to be blamed alone. We've been working hard over the last few years to change that. In the last three quarters of a year, I've made so much mental progress that I feel the change.

–Would you change anything in hindsight?
– Of course, I'm human, too, I've done so many things wrong: I could write an A4-sized list about this... I obviously think differently today, but that's life. You have to be able to accept that.

– Your father, who put you on this road, can't see your retirement anymore: do you think about him a lot?
– Of course, I think and dream about him a lot. I owe him, my mother, grandparents, friends and family a lot. I'm sorry he can't see this anymore, but at the same time, I think he would've told me to let it all go a long time ago... He would've seen me suffering, the situation from which I had to stand up, and as my protector, he would've told me not to force it.

– So, are you now turning your back on the sport?
–For a while, I think.

– Are you done?
–It's enough. I have to experience what a different kind of life is like. Of course, I'll follow events and competitions, but you won't see me in the swimming pool every day.

– What if your eyes will pop up open at 5am?
–I'll try to go back to sleep somehow.

He went to congratulate, but he was congratulated instead

– What have you experienced from the support of the outside world?
–I saw a message or two; it felt good to read them. Thank you all for cheering!

– The crowd of Hungarian swimmers encouraged everyone in Hungary to get up to root for you.
–If someone woke up so early for this... I have to be happy about these because it's a wonderful experience to have so many people interested in me. It's important to them what I do, what results I produce. I didn't hear the on-site cheers during the race, but I did before and after.

– Was there a swimmer who congratulated you on your career before the final?
– Before the finale, we just encouraged each other, we didn't have to do anything else, and I didn't expect it either. It's already a huge thing for me to be able to compete with outstanding athletes in the past and now. I had tough opponents; I was pretty much trying to hold my ground.

– Regardless, the recent Olympic champion Wang Shun of China bowed to you!
– Yes, he was very nice. I went towards him to congratulate him on his gold medal. I was surprised that he appreciated my performance this way. So, I hereby congratulate him and the other six contestants for having a good battle.

– You've been to so many Olympics that you could celebrate afterward, but this is going to be different... What are your plans for the next few days?
– I don't want to celebrate the days or years! I'll have a lot of time; I'll live the life of the retired.

– What will happen to the garage?
– I'll need to plan where to put what used to be there.

– Did you store your medals there?
– No, they're in the house or at my family's. I need to rearrange the house, put my swimming gear away and pass it on to those who can still use it.

MEN'S 200M MEDLEY
1. Wang Shun (China) 1:55.00 min
2. Duncan Scott (Great Britain) +0.28 sec
3. Jérémy Desplanches (Switzerland) +1.17
4. DAIYA Seto (Japan) +1,22
5. Michael Andrew (U.S.) +231
6. HAGINO Kosuke (Japan) +2.49
7. LÁSZLÓ CSEH (HUNGARY) +2.68
8. Lewis Clareburt (New Zealand) +2.70

Translated by Vanda Orosz