Hubi Kós enjoyed a stellar 2024 in which he became Olympic champion before capping off a standout year with a world title in front of the home fans in Budapest.
The Hungarian enjoyed a medal-laden European Championships before heading to Paris for the 2024 Games. There he led home an all-European podium in the 200m backstroke at Paris after moving from third to first on the final 50m as he executed his race plan to perfection.
In December, he took to the blocks at the Duna Arena in the Hungarian capital which was playing host to the World Short-Course Championships for the first time. After winning silver in the 100m backstroke, Hubi won the 200m title in a European record of 1:45.65, the second-fastest time in history and just 0.02 off the world record.
Hubi said: “Winning in front of our fans — this mattered only this evening, nothing else. To live the joy together, to give them back something for their outstanding support over the years. In 2022, I swam here but I wasn’t good enough to make a splash. Now I came here to win and now I did, and it’s a fantastic feeling.”
Hubi continued his momentum into 2025. In March he won three individual golds as the University of Texas – where he is coached by Bob Bowman - won the NCAA title. He returned to Hungary days later for the national championships where he won nine gold medals plus a bronze to make it 10 in total. On the final day, Hubi beat Paris 2024 champion Kristóf Milák en-route to the 100m butterfly title before immediately dashing off to anchor the BVSC-ZUGLÓ 4x200m relay to victory.
“I woke up today thinking that this is the last day and I’m not sure I’ll survive these two events, the 100 butterfly and the relay,” he said through the Hungarian federation. “I beat the Olympic champion in the event, it’s always a special feeling, and I had ten minutes until the relay. The whole national championship went amazingly well.”
