# Hubert Kós

Hubert Kós (born 28 March 2003) is a Hungarian swimmer and a member of the University of Texas swim team. He is a world junior record holder in the 200 metre individual medley and an Olympic champion in the 200 metre backstroke. At the 2021 European Short Course Championships, he won the bronze medal in the 400 metre individual medley. At the 2022 European Aquatics Championships, he won the gold medal in the 200 metre individual medley. In 2023, he won the bronze medal in the 200 yard backstroke at the year's men's NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships. In 2024, he won the gold medal in the 200 metre backstroke at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

## Early life

Kós has family links to County Kerry in southwest Ireland, and has visited there several times since he was a boy. His paternal grandmother is Irish, while his paternal grandfather is Hungarian who emigrated to Ireland with his family at the age of 6 in 1946. Kós' father spent his childhood in Cork.
He has two younger siblings: a brother, Olivér, who is also a swimmer, and a sister, Allison. He studied at the American International School of Budapest.

## Career
### 2021–2022

In the semifinals of the men's 200 metre individual medley event of the 2020 European Aquatics Championships, Kós set a new World Junior Record with a time of 1:56.99. He competed in the men's 200 metre individual medley at the 2020 Summer Olympics. At the 2021 European Short Course Championships, conducted at the Palace of Water Sports in Kazan, Russia, he won the bronze medal in the 400 metre individual medley with a time of 4:03.16. Two days earlier at the Championships, he placed fourth in the final of the 200 metre individual medley with a European junior record time of 1:52.87.
At the 2022 European Aquatics Championships, held in Rome, Italy, 19-year-old Kós won the gold medal in the 200 metre individual medley with a time of 1:57.72. Earlier in the competition, he placed fourth in the final of the 100 metre butterfly with a personal best time of 51.33 seconds. In November, at the 2022 Hungarian National Short Course Championships in Kaposvár, he set his first Hungarian record in the final of the 100 metre individual medley to win the national title with a time of 52.82 seconds.

### 2023

On 3 March, at the 2023 Pac-12 Conference Championships at King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, United States, Kós won the bronze medal in the 400 yard individual medley with a time of 3:37.68. The day before, he placed tenth overall, second in the b-final, in the 200 yard individual medley with a time of 1:42.37. Day four of four overall, 4 March, he placed fourth in the 200 yard backstroke with a time of 1:39.21, which was 2.27 seconds behind gold medalist Destin Lasco of the California Golden Bears.
As a freshman (first year) at the 2023 NCAA Division I Championships later in the month, Kós started by taking third-place in the b-final of the 200 yard individual medley on day two with a personal best time of 1:41.61 to contribute to a b-final podium sweep by Arizona State Sun Devils swimmers (9th, 10th, 11th overall). The next day, he placed fourth in the evening final of the 400 yard individual medley, finishing 8.18 seconds behind gold medalist and Sun Devils teammate Léon Marchand with a time of 3:37.00, which followed a personal best time of 3:36.86 in the morning preliminaries that qualified him for the final ranking fourth. On the fourth and final day, he won the first NCAA Championships medal of his collegiate career in the 200 yard backstroke, winning the bronze medal with a personal best time of 1:37.96.
At the 2023 TYR Pro Swim Series in April in Westmont, United States, Kós placed fourth in the 100 metre backstroke on day three with a personal best time of 53.83 seconds. This followed a fourth-place finish in the 400 metre individual medley on day two with a time of 4:14.08. On the fourth and final day, he achieved a personal best time of 1:56.28 in the preliminaries of the 200 metre backstroke, qualifying for the final ranking first, before going on to win the final in a personal best and 2023 World Aquatics Championships qualifying time of 1:55.95, which was 1.02 seconds faster than the next-fastest competitor.

## Swimming World Cup circuits

The following medals Kós has won at Swimming World Cup circuits.
| Edition | Gold medals | Silver medals | Bronze medals | Total |
| 2021 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 2022 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Total | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 |

## Personal best times
### Long course metres (50 m pool)

| Event | Time | | Meet | Location | Date | Age | Notes |
| 100 m backstroke | 53.83 | | 2023 TYR Pro Swim Series - Westmont | Westmont, United States | 14 April 2023 | 20 | |
| 200 m backstroke | 1:55.95 | | 2023 TYR Pro Swim Series - Westmont | Westmont, United States | 15 April 2023 | 20 | |
| 100 m butterfly | 51.33 | | 2022 European Aquatics Championships | Rome, Italy | 14 August 2022 | 19 | |
| 200 m individual medley | 1:56.99 | sf | 2020 European Aquatics Championships | Budapest | 19 May 2021 | 18 | WJ |
| 400 m individual medley | 4:13.50 | | 2022 Hungarian National Championships | Debrecen | 22 April 2022 | 19 | |

### Short course metres (25 m pool)

| Event | Time | | Meet | Location | Date | Age | Notes |
| 100 m backstroke | 51.81 | | 2022 Hungarian National Short Course Championships | Kaposvár | 17 November 2022 | 19 | |
| 200 m backstroke | 1:52.45 | | 2022 Swimming World Cup | Indianapolis, United States | 3 November 2022 | 19 | |
| 50 m butterfly | 23.79 | † | 2022 Hungarian National Short Course Championships | Kaposvár | 19 November 2022 | 19 | |
| 100 m butterfly | 51.48 | | 2022 Hungarian National Short Course Championships | Kaposvár | 19 November 2022 | 19 | |
| 200 m butterfly | 1:53.97 | | 2021 Swimming World Cup | Berlin, Germany | 2 October 2021 | 18 | |
| 100 m individual medley | 52.82 | | 2022 Hungarian National Short Course Championships | Kaposvár | 17 November 2022 | 19 | NR |
| 200 m individual medley | 1:52.87 | | 2021 European Short Course Championships | Kazan, Russia | 5 November 2021 | 18 | EJ |
| 400 m individual medley | 4:03.16 | | 2021 European Short Course Championships | Kazan, Russia | 7 November 2021 | 18 | |

### Short course yards (25 yd pool)

| Event | Time | | Meet | Location | Date | Age |
| 200 yd backstroke | 1:37.96 | | 2023 NCAA Division I Championships | Minneapolis, United States | 25 March 2023 | 19 |
| 200 yd individual medley | 1:41.61 | b | 2023 NCAA Division I Championships | Minneapolis, United States | 23 March 2023 | 19 |
| 400 yd individual medley | 3:36.86 | h | 2023 NCAA Division I Championships | Minneapolis, United States | 24 March 2023 | 19 |
Legend: b – b-final; h – preliminary heat

## Records
### National records
#### Short course metres (25 m pool)

| No. | Event | Time | Meet | Location | Date | Age | Ref |
| 1 | 100 m individual medley | 52.82 | 2022 Hungarian National Short Course Championships | Kaposvár | 17 November 2022 | 19 | |

### World junior records
#### Long course metres (50 m pool)

| No. | Event | Time | | Meet | Location | Date | Age | Ref |
| 1 | 200 m individual medley | 1:56.99 | sf | 2020 European Aquatics Championships | Budapest | 19 May 2021 | 18 | |
Legend: sf – semifinal