Approaching Legendary World Record Elevates Hubert Kos Alongside Marchand as World’s Dominant Swimmer
Last month, Summer McIntosh erased the last women’s long course world record surviving from the polyurethane-suit era, her 2:01.65 in the 200 butterfly at Canadian Trials finally beating the 2009 mark set by Liu Zige. That mark had been well ahead of its time, more than three seconds ahead of the winning time from the next two Olympics, and poised to last generations. At least it was, until McIntosh inched her way closer to the record, finally joining Liu in the 2:01s last summer and now claiming the record for her own.
That left only three men’s world records from that period, all set with now-banned technology at the 2009 World Championships: Paul Biedermann at 1:42.00 in the 200 freestyle, Zhang Lin at 7:32.12 in the 800 free and Aaron Peirsol at 1:51.92 in the 200 backstroke. As with Liu’s 200 fly mark, no one was coming anywhere close to these records.
Since the new suit rules took effect on January 1, 2010, the only man to crack 1:43 in the 200 free has been David Popovici; the Romanian star remains the world and Olympic champion, but he has not been that fast in four years. In the 800 free, the textile best belongs to Sam Short at 7:36.73, still 4.5 seconds behind Zhang.
Hubert Kos — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
As for the 200 back, no one swam sub-1:53 for 14 consecutive years after Ryan Lochte won the 2011 world title in 1:52.96. The record seemed extremely safe — at least until Hubert Kos came along. The 23-year-old has been the dominant force in the event for the past four years, and now, he sits on the precipice of history.
Kos was already undefeated internationally in the 200 back since 2023, when he upset Ryan Murphy to win the world title. He added Olympic gold in Paris, and at last year’s World Championships, Kos finished in 1:53.19 to hold young South African Pieter Coetze at bay by less than two tenths. In the process, Kos crushed his best time by almost a second and became the fifth-fastest performer in history.
He made another leap Tuesday in the semifinal round at the European Championships as he blasted the opening portion of the race. Kos flipped at the halfway point in 53.64, more than a second under world-record pace, only to fade down the stretch. Still, Kos clocked 1:52.30 to crush his own European record and swim the second-fastest mark in history, within four tenths of the world record. He would return to win the European title Wednesday in 1:53.08.
Just like that, Peirsol’s mark so long shrugged off as unachievable was back in play. Kos just needed to make sure he had left in the tank for the final length, his 29.98 split not nearly enough to keep pace with the American’s polyurethane-fueled closing speed. That last length was all that stood between Kos and his first long course world record. He already set short course world records in the 100 and 200 back last year plus numerous all-time bests in short course yards during his college career.
Not just any record, one that has lasted 17 years. And unlike many of the swimmers who set long-lasting world records during the suit era, Peirsol was no one-hit wonder. Quite the contrary: he remains among history’s best backstrokers, one of only two male swimmers to win three individual Olympic gold medals in backstroke. Peirsol benefitted plenty from the suits, setting a 100 back record that lasted seven years in addition to this 200 mark, but his legacy was already secure beforehand.
It will not be long before that mark belongs to Kos, the 1:51.92 surely a central goal over the next year. The 2027 World Championships will be held in Budapest, and surely the home fans in Hungary would relish watching their national star swim his way to history. But already, Kos’ proximity to the record augments his case as perhaps the world’s best swimmer.
Some around the pool deck at this year’s NCAA Championships broached the notion, only to remember the credentials of Leon Marchand, the four-time-gold-medal-winning Frenchman and Kos’ training partner at Texas. But Marchand is dealing with a right adductor injury, ruling him out of his signature individual medley events at the European Championships and limiting his program to two individual events.
Kos, meanwhile, is taking on a massive load this week, with plans to swim all three backstroke events, the 100 and 200 fly and 200 IM. A massive medal haul combined with this incredible near–record could erase any doubt that Kos, at least for right now, has become the dominant performer in men’s swimming.
