Swimming 100m Champion Decides Not to Defend Her Title at Tokyo Olympics 2020

Swimming events in Tokyo Olympics 2020 will start on July 24th. Moreover, team USA and Australia have a very competitive roster heading to Japan.

Swimmers like Katie Ledecky, Simone Manuel, Ariarne Titmus are the leading from the front to showcase their talents. However, Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszu stands above everyone else as one of the best swimmers in the nation’s history.

Dubbed as ‘Iron Lady’, the Hungarian swimmer is one of the best talents to come out of Hungary’s conveyor belt. Even though she won the 100-meter backstroke event last year, Hosszu won’t defend her title in Tokyo.

Katinka Hosszu set to shine in Tokyo Olympics 2020

In the meantime, she will compete in 200m backstroke, 200m butterfly, and both the 200 and 400m individual medley. She won the 100-meter backstroke event in Rio Olympics 2016 by setting a time of 58.45.

Her exclusion from the event came as a surprise, and a new champion will be crowned in Tokyo. Even though she pulled out from the 100m backstroke event, she will look to win the gold medal in the 200m backstroke event.

By finishing second in the 200m backstroke race last year, she is determined to turn that into gold in Japan.

But the individual medleys are once again going to be dominated by Hosszu. The current world record holder for both the 200m and the 400m individual medley events, Hosszu is the outright favorite to win it this year as well.

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Hosszu’s exploits in South Korea

Significantly, both the individual medley events are her top events. Even in the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju, Hosszu won gold medals in both the aforementioned medley events.

But the key takeaway would be her backstroke. Notably, she finished eighth in the 200m backstroke event, which doesn’t paint a good picture of heading to Tokyo.

Apart from her medals, she is an influential personality back in her homeland. By holding two-thirds of their national records, Katinka Hosszu’s contributions to Hungary are beyond anyone’s belief. Likewise, FINA named her the world swimmer of the year four times. Quite incredible.

But her individual medley events remain her true strength. Despite her concerns with the backstroke events, Hosszu’s dominance in medley events is equal to Ledecky’s dominance in the freestyle events. Both these swimmers are the first names that come to everyone’s minds for these events.

This year’s Tokyo Olympics proves to be a fascinating experience for fans because of the sheer number of talented swimmers on display.

The women’s 100m and 200m freestyle events are some races that fans can’t miss. But in terms of women’s individual medleys, Hosszu will sweep past other swimmers. It is her holy grail.

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