Swimming: the real news is that I get defeated – Katinka Hosszú

– Are you annoyed?
– I'm not saying that it's not annoying to lose by a hundredth – replied Katinka Hosszú, who was defeated by Dalma Sebestyén by a hundredth of a second on the first day of the national championships in Debrecen.

– It is also honorable that you have not yet turned your back on the world of swimming. It can be tiring to do the same thing for years.
– It's been a while since I'm training differently now. I don't swim in as many events in races as before, so I thought about changing my training method. What's more tiring is that it's not like it used to be the years were passing by and I was bringing results. Now, I have to go back again to the classic sense of foundation that hasn't been needed for years.

– You haven't competed since the Tokyo Olympics...
– Right. And that's why I get really tired. After the Olympics, I took a long break, then I went upwards, then came the coronavirus infection. Afterwards, the foundation came again, we went to a training camp in Tenerife in January, and then I got sick again. This "I'll train a little bit and then I'll get sick again" is really tiring.

– What's making you go forward?
– I'd like to stop swimming when I think I've had enough of it.

– I don't fully understand that... Are you tired of swimming?
– No, but as I said, I am tired of the fight of continuously coming back from the bottom again. I am happy with this 2:12 time because that was my goal. A week ago, I swam 2:13 in Stockholm. This time, I started much stronger, which is why I didn't have enough energy in the end... But such a strong start is necessary. No one should think I'm sad, but it rather entertains me that I'm slowly making progress.

– Doesn't it hurt you that everyone misses the old Katinka Hosszú?
– Before the national championships, I decided to swim in four events only, so there is one for every day. I knew even before the race that this change would not be shocking to many, but I was aware that me losing would be the big news. It's not that bad, because it shows that I've won so many times that it's newsworthy to be beaten. But I also try to look at this situation positively and just think that for many it's basic that Katinka Hosszú competes in a lot of events and always wins. The world has changed: now I enjoy swimming only one event a day.

Translated by: Vanda Orosz