Hungarian Olympic champion Kristof Milak will not participate in the upcoming 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, scheduled for July 11 to August 3. The announcement came from his coach, Almos Szabo, during an interview with Hungarian National Sports Radio.
Kristof Milak to Skip World Championships, Citing Burnout
Szabo, who began coaching Milak in late 2024, revealed that the swimmer has been struggling with motivation since Paris 2024. “We discussed this. Kristof has indicated this intention, and I support him in this,” Szabo told M4 Sport. “We all feel the year after the Olympics on our skin, and it’s terribly difficult to find motivation at this time.”
This decision marks Milak’s third straight absence from the long-course World Championships, having already skipped the 2023 and 2024 editions.
Focus Now on LA28 and World Records
Despite skipping recent championships, Milak has stayed dominant at the Olympics—winning gold in the 100m butterfly and silver in the 200m at Paris 2024, after striking gold and silver in the opposite events at Tokyo 2020.
Szabo believes that this break will help Milak reignite his passion for swimming. “According to our shared ideas, he still has a chance to break the world record in the two butterfly events, he has the knowledge to do so,” the coach added.
Milak’s absence opens up the field for other top swimmers. In the 100m butterfly, nine swimmers have clocked sub-51-second times this season, led by Switzerland’s Noe Ponti with 50.27.
In the 200m, France’s Leon Marchand, who beat Milak at Paris 2024, enters as the top contender, despite not racing the event in long course this year. American swimmer Luca Urlando currently leads the world rankings with 1:52.37.
As Milak sits out to prepare for LA28, all eyes will be on whether the break helps him chase the elusive world records in butterfly events.