Katinka Hosszú is the best female swimmer of the year

Katinka Hosszú is the woman swimmer of the year and the Hungarian water polo team is the team of the year according to the international water sports association (FINA). And the coaches of the year are Árpád Petrov, the trainer of Hosszú and Tamás Märcz, the coach of the Hungarian water polo team.

The three-time Olympic champion Katinka Hosszú received the recognition on the gala after the swimming championship in Hangzhou. The winner was selected by earning points according to their performance in this year’s world cup series and during the now finished world cup – Nemzetisport.hu reported.

If you want to know why Katinka Hosszú and other swimmers sued FINA, read THIS article.

Hosszú was second place in the overall points competition during the world cup right behind Sjöström Sarah, and Hosszú received four gold medals during the world championship in the categories of 100, 200 and 400 meters mixed and 200 meters butterfly stroke, and she also received a silver medal in 100 meters backstroke.

“It is a great feeling, I did not think that I could do it this year” – said Hosszú to MTI and she added that she would have been happier if her rival, Sjöström was there at the world championships. “I felt her absence during the 100 meters mixed, we would have had a great battle” – she said.

Hosszú said about 2019 that: “I would like this to be the year of finishing touches. It would be great if I could break my personal records at the world championships.”

Árpád Petrov automatically received the acknowledgement for the best coach because of the achievement of his disciple. He said when they started the work with Hosszú, he did not think that they will have such great success.

“I thought that it would be much harder to get her in shape and to retrieve the athletic abilities that characterize her. It was hard to increase both her speed and stamina, but it seems that we succeeded” – said the trainer.

The expert said that the most important was that his disciple should attend the competition with confidence despite the relatively short, 16-week preparation time. He also added that according to him, Hosszú is at her 85% and that they will try to get her up to her full potential until next December.

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The Hungarian men’s team was also recognized during the Chinese gala. Márton Chilkó, Universiade winner received the prize in the name of the team at Hangzhou after the world cup. They chose the team according to their performance in the two competitions that FINA organized this year. The Hungarian team won the silver during the world league and won the world cup.

Tamás Märcz, the water polo team’s coach, who became the year’s best coach because of the success of his team said to MTI that: “It is very hard to perform well in a year with so many events. Unfortunately, we were not able to finish in the top 3 during the European championships, but we managed to get two unexpected and fantastic medals. With these successes, we were able to qualify for next year’s championship.”

Photo: MUSZ/Derencsényi István

The coach said that it is hard to choose which competition to go to as the expectations for the Hungarian water polo team are high in every occasion.

“It would not be easy to qualify for the Olympic super finals, because the way there leads through a very difficult competition, the final eight of the Europe Cup. If we fail, we will focus on the world championship, where there are more places to qualify.”

The coach commented that although they intended this year to team building, they were unexpectedly able to win two major medals.

Featured image: https://www.facebook.com/katinkahosszu/

Source: nemzetisport.hu