In His Own League: Hubert Kos Ranks No. 1 in 200 Backstroke in 2025 in LC and SC
At the conclusion of the 2025 season, four women were ranked No. 1 in an event in both the long-course pool and in the short-course setting. Leading the way was Gretchen Walsh, who accomplished the feat in a pair of events, the 50-meter butterfly and 100 butterfly. She was joined as a dual No. 1 by Australians Mollie O’Callaghan (200 freestyle) and Kaylee McKeown (200 backstroke) and American Kate Douglass (200 backstroke).
In men’s competition, only one event featured the same athlete ranked first in long course and short course: Hubert Kos. The reigning Olympic champion and multi-time world champion in the 200 backstroke, Kos dominated his prime event. In fact, the Hungarian actually posted the fastest time in the 200 backstroke in all three formats, as the University of Texas standout also led the way in the 200-yard version of the event with an NCAA record of 1:34.21.
In the long-course version of the 200 backstroke, Kos claimed his second world title last summer in Singapore. Fending off a challenge from South Africa’s Pieter Coetze, Kos captured the gold medal with a personal-best time of 1:53.19. That performance lifted the 22-year-old to No. 5 in the all-time rankings, and has Kos knocking on the door to the exclusive sub-1:53 club, visited only by Aaron Peirsol (1:51.92), Ryosuke Irie (1:52.51) and Ryan Lochte (1:52.96).
Kos was even more impressive in the short-course 200 backstroke, where he set a world record of 1:45.12 during the Toronto stop of the World Cup circuit. Kos was a perfect 9-for-9 in the backstroke events during the World Cup, and also set a short-course world record in the 100 backstroke, going 48.16. But in the 200 backstroke, Kos’ dominance was off the charts. In addition to cutting a half-second off the previous world record in the event, the Hungarian registered the fastest time in the world for 2025 by more than two seconds, with Italian Thomas Ceccon (1:47.49) sitting second.
Hubert Kos (200 Backstroke – 2025)
LCM: 1:53.19
SCM: 1:45.12 (World Record)
SCY: 1:34.21 (NCAA Record)
