Katinka Hosszu right at home in Charlotte after big weekend at Arena Pro Swim Series
Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu could call the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center her second home.
Some of the best performances of Hosszu’s swimming career have come there, and this weekend’s Arena Pro Swim Series meet just added to her record.
Hosszu capped off her week by winning two more events Sunday, the women’s 200-meter individual medley and 200 backstroke. That gave her six titles in seven events this weekend, and 12 over the past two years at the Charlotte meet.
“I always try to do my best, but for me it’s pretty important to look at what I did at the same time last year,” Hosszu said. “That really shows me if I’m making the steps forward, the improvements that we are set up to do.
“Looking at my times from last year, it’s definitely working. We’re on the right track.”
Hosszu repeated her win in last year’s 200 IM by touching the wall this year in 2 minutes, 8.66 seconds, the fastest time in the world this year. She beat Melanie Margalis by nearly two seconds. Margalis touched the wall in 2:10.57.
Less than 20 minutes later, Hosszu was back in the MCAC pool and repeating as the 200 backstroke champion, winning the event in 2:07.79, the third-fastest time in the world this year. She finished nearly 2 1/2 seconds ahead of Canadian swimmer Dominique Bouchard. Bouchard touched in 2:10.25.
“Honestly, we usually have pretty big goals,” Hosszu said. “I wanted to go around 2:08, definitely under 2:09, so it didn’t really surprise me. On the other hand, I’ve never been this fast in season before. It’s definitely exciting.”
Worth mentioning
Ryan Lochte, who lives in Charlotte and trains with SwimMAC Carolinas, won the men’s 200 individual medley in 1:57.20, the third-fastest time in the world this year. He also finished third in the 200 backstroke, won by Serbia’s Arkady Vyatchanin.
Lochte’s main rival, 18-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps, didn’t fare as well, failing to make the ‘A’ final in both the 200 IM and 100 freestyle. However, he won the 200 IM ‘B’ final in 2:00.25, which would have put him sixth in the ‘A’ final.
Also winning in Sunday’s finals were Brazil’s Felipe Lima (men’s 50 breaststroke), Nathan Adrian (men’s 100 freestyle), Connor Jaeger (men’s 1,500 freestyle), Denmark’s Lotte Friis (women’s 800 freestyle), Jamaica’s Alia Atkinson (women’s 50 breaststroke), and three-time Olympic gold medalist Natalie Coughlin (women’s 100 freestyle).
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“That about sums it up. It’s just frustrating. One of the most frustrating parts was just not setting myself up in the morning like I should have. What I want most is to be racing the competition I need to be racing. I want to race Ryan and those guys. It’s frustrating falling short.” – Phelps, after making a raspberry sound, on his performance Sunday.
This story was originally published May 17, 2015 at 9:08 PM with the headline "Katinka Hosszu right at home in Charlotte after big weekend at Arena Pro Swim Series."