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Kristof Milak breaks Olympic record for 200m butterfly gold

Posted at 6:07 PM, Jul 27, 2021
and last updated 2021-07-27 22:49:11-04

Hungary's Kristof Milak was unable to break his own world record, but he still managed to grab gold in the men's 200m butterfly -- in an Olympic record-worthy 1:51:25. It was the Hungarian's third-fastest swim ever. 

Japan's Honda Tomoru and Italy's Federico Burdisso finished second and third, respectively, with 1:53:73 and 1:54:75. Honda's efforts provided the host nation with its second swimming medal of the Tokyo Games. 

South Africa's Chad le Clos, who previously won gold in the event at the London Games, led at the halfway mark -- but ultimately faded to fifth.  

Milak's time still tops the previous world record of 1:51:51, set by Michael Phelps in 2009. Phelps held the record for almost exactly a decade before the Hugarian shattered it at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships with 1:50:73.

Team USA's Gunnar Bentz, who finished seventh, took to social media ahead of the race to express excitement and announce his retirement.

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