World Champs Profiles: Hubert Kos Ready to Expand Medal Reach
Leading into the start of the World Championships later this month, Swimming World will publish a handful of short profiles on top contenders for the podium in Singapore. Our next entry in this series features Hubert Kos, the latest in a long line of Hungarian superstars.
Hubert Kos
Hungary
Events: 50 Backstroke/100 Backstroke/200 Backstroke/100 Butterfly/200 IM
The Road to Singapore
Kos is one of the world’s elite multi-event standouts, even if he has enjoyed his greatest success in the backstroke. The 22-year-old is the reigning Olympic champion in the 200 backstroke, an event in which he ranks fifth in the world this year, behind a mark of 1:55.50 from the Longhorn Elite Invitational.
There should be additional medal opportunities for Kos at the World Champs, as he heads to Singapore ranked fourth in the 100 backstroke (52.24), sixth in the 100 butterfly (50.55) and fourth in the 200 medley (1:56.40). There is also the possibility that Kos contests the 50 backstroke.
Top Career Achievement
The favorite for the gold medal in the 200 backstroke at last summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, Kos needed a late rally to claim victory, and he delivered in a big way. Trailing Greece’s Apostolos Christou by a second heading into the final length, Kos roared through the closing 50 meters to prevail by a little more than a half-second.
Previous World Champs Hardware
Kos owns one medal from the long-course World Championships, a gold from the 2023 edition in Fukuoka. Additionally, he was a double-medalist at the 2024 World Short Course Championships, where he was the titlist in the 200 backstroke and secured a silver medal in the 100 backstroke.
Stat Fact
Kos ranks in the top-25 all-time in four individual events. He is the No. 9 performer in the history of the 200 backstroke (1:54.14), 15th in both the 100 backstroke (52.24) and 100 butterfly (50.55) and 23rd in the 200 IM (1:56.40).
World Champs Profiles
