László Cseh

László Cseh
Personal information
National team Hungary
Born (1985-12-03) 3 December 1985 (age 39)
Budapest, Hungary
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight82 kg (181 lb)
WebsiteCsehLaszlo.hu
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesIndividual medley, butterfly, backstroke
ClubBp. Spartacus ( –2005)
Kőbánya SC (2005–14)
Egri ÚK (2015–19)
BVSC-Zugló (2019– )
CoachMiklós Kiss
György Túri (1997–2014)
Zsolt Plagányi (2014– )[1]
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing  Hungary
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 0 4 2
World Championships (LC) 2 6 5
World Championships (SC) 0 2 2
European Championships (LC) 14 4 5
European Championships (SC) 19 3 3
Universiade 3 0 0
Total 38 19 17
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2008 Beijing 200 m butterfly
Silver medal – second place 2008 Beijing 200 m medley
Silver medal – second place 2008 Beijing 400 m medley
Silver medal – second place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 100 m butterfly
Bronze medal – third place 2004 Athens 400 m medley
Bronze medal – third place 2012 London 200 m medley
World Championships (LC)
Gold medal – first place 2005 Montreal 400 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2015 Kazan 200 m butterfly
Silver medal – second place 2003 Barcelona 400 m medley
Silver medal – second place 2005 Montreal 200 m medley
Silver medal – second place 2009 Rome 200 m medley
Silver medal – second place 2013 Barcelona 100 m butterfly
Silver medal – second place 2015 Kazan 100 m butterfly
Silver medal – second place 2017 Budapest 200 m butterfly
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Montreal 100 m backstroke
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Melbourne 200 m medley
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Rome 400 m medley
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Shanghai 200 m medley
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Kazan 50 m butterfly
World Championships (SC)
Silver medal – second place 2012 Istanbul 200 m butterfly
Silver medal – second place 2012 Istanbul 400 m medley
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Dubai 200 m butterfly
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Istanbul 200 m medley
European Championships (LC)
Gold medal – first place 2004 Madrid 100 m backstroke
Gold medal – first place 2004 Madrid 400 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2006 Budapest 200 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2006 Budapest 400 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2008 Eindhoven 200 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2008 Eindhoven 400 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2010 Budapest 200 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2010 Budapest 400 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2012 Debrecen 200 m butterfly
Gold medal – first place 2012 Debrecen 200 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2012 Debrecen 400 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2014 Berlin 200 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2016 London 100 m butterfly
Gold medal – first place 2016 London 200 m butterfly
Silver medal – second place 2006 Budapest 200 m backstroke
Silver medal – second place 2012 Debrecen 100 m butterfly
Silver medal – second place 2014 Berlin 100 m butterfly
Silver medal – second place 2016 London 50 m butterfly
Bronze medal – third place 2004 Madrid 4×100 m medley
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Debrecen 4×200 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Debrecen 4×100 m medley
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Berlin 4×100 m medley
Bronze medal – third place 2016 London 4×100 m medley
European Championships (SC)
Gold medal – first place 2003 Dublin 400 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2004 Vienna 400 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2005 Trieste 100 m backstroke
Gold medal – first place 2005 Trieste 200 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2005 Trieste 400 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2006 Helsinki 200 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2007 Debrecen 200 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2007 Debrecen 400 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2007 Debrecen 200 m butterfly
Gold medal – first place 2009 Istanbul 400 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2011 Szczecin 200 m butterfly
Gold medal – first place 2011 Szczecin 200 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2011 Szczecin 400 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2012 Chartres 200 m butterfly
Gold medal – first place 2012 Chartres 200 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2012 Chartres 400 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2015 Netanya 100 m butterfly
Gold medal – first place 2015 Netanya 200 m butterfly
Gold medal – first place 2015 Netanya 200 m medley
Silver medal – second place 2004 Vienna 200 m medley
Silver medal – second place 2006 Helsinki 400 m medley
Silver medal – second place 2006 Helsinki 200 m butterfly
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Riesa 400 m medley
Bronze medal – third place 2004 Vienna 100 m backstroke
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Szczecin 200 m freestyle
Universiade
Gold medal – first place 2011 Shenzhen 200 m butterfly
Gold medal – first place 2011 Shenzhen 200 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2011 Shenzhen 400 m medley

László Cseh (pronounced [ˈlaːsloː ˈt͡ʃɛ]; born 3 December 1985) is a retired Hungarian competitive swimmer and six-time Olympic medalist. He is a 33-time European Champion. His father, László Cseh Sr., also represented Hungary at the Olympics in swimming. In 2020, Braden Keith of SwimSwam nominated him as number 1 within top 10 male swimmers who have never won Olympic gold.

Personal

[edit]

The son of an Olympic swimmer, Cseh started swimming competitively at an early age. Cseh is coached by György Turi and Zoltán Nemes. He holds a scholarship with the Olympic Solidarity programme.

Swimming career

[edit]

At the 2003 World Championships, Cseh captured a silver medal in the 400 m individual medley, his first medal at the highest level. He also finished 7th and 13th in the 100 and 200 metres backstroke, all in national record time.

Kazan 2015

2004 Olympics

[edit]

Cseh represented Hungary at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece in the 400 m individual medley, 100 m backstroke, and the 200 m individual medley, despite having broken his ankle in the training camp on a stairway a couple of weeks before.[citation needed] Nevertheless, he won a bronze medal in the 400 m individual medley as well as coming in fourth in the 200 m individual medley, and sixth in the 100 m backstroke.

At the 2005 World Championships, Cseh not only improved his national records, he excelled further up in the world rankings, and entered the meet as a serious medal contender in 3 events. After Michael Phelps backed out of the 400 m individual medley, Cseh picked up his first gold medal at the world championships.

Cseh failed to back up his previous performances in the 2007 World Championships, finishing outside the medals in the 400 m individual medley; however he did set a new national record in the 200 m individual medley, along with testing out the 200 m freestyle.

2008 Olympics

[edit]

Cseh represented Hungary at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing in three swimming events: the 400 m individual medley, the 200 m butterfly, and the 200 m individual medley. Despite setting the European record in all of them, he won the silver medal in each and came in second behind American Michael Phelps, who won each event with a new world record. In both individual medleys, Cseh came out ahead of the bronze-medal winner Ryan Lochte.

At the 2009 World Championships, Cseh was rushed to hospital on arrival in Rome, suffering from a stomach virus. A source close to the Hungarian team stated: "He has had to have re hydration and electrolyte drinks but is quite sick." He scratched his first event, the 200 m butterfly, however he did return to competition on day 4 setting a European record in the 200 m individual medley, swimming a touch slower the next night to capture silver, final night of competition saw him take bronze in the 400 m individual medley.

At the 2010 European Championships, Cseh held off Markus Rogan for gold in the 200 m individual medley, winning the event for the third time. Also taking gold in the 400 m individual medley for the fourth time. He scratched the European Short Course Championships to focus on the World Short Course Championships where he won a bronze in the 200 m butterfly.

At the 2011 World Championships, he took bronze in the 200 m individual medley, finished 9th in the 100 m butterfly, and 12th in the 200 m butterfly.

Cseh wins his second World Champs (long course) gold, 10 years after the first

2012 Olympics

[edit]

At the 2012 Olympics, he competed in 6 events: the 200 m butterfly, 200 m individual medley, 400 m individual medley, and the 3 relays. Cseh narrowly failed to reach the final of the 400 meter individual medley, coming in 9th position in the semi-finals. He finished 12th in the 200m butterfly. Cseh did add to his Olympic medal count with a bronze in the 200 meter individual medley, touching the wall in a time of 1:56.22, behind Phelps (gold – 1:54.27) and Lochte (silver – 1:54.90).

At the 2015 World Aquatics Championships, Cseh finally won another gold, 10 years after his first, by winning the 200m butterfly in 1:53.48, 0.2 seconds ahead of Chad le Clos.[2]

2016 Olympics

[edit]

At the 2016 Olympics, he competed in the 100 m and 200 m butterfly, along with the 4 × 100 m medley relay.

In 100 m butterfly he finished 2nd along with rivals Michael Phelps and Chad le Clos, where Singaporean Joseph Schooling won the race with a new Olympic record. Cseh has now won Olympic silver medals in four different events, and he has also won individual medals in four different Olympics.

2020 Olympics

[edit]

At the 2020 Olympics, Laszlo Cseh competed in his fifth and last Olympic games, entering in men's 200m IM only. The 35-year-old Hungarian stopped the clock in a time of 1:57.68 to finish 7th in the race, after the race he announced retirement from competitive swimming, ending his legendary career as 6-time Olympic medalist and 13-time World Champ medalist. [3]

Career best times

[edit]

Long course (50 m pool)

[edit]
Event Time Meet Location Date Notes
200 m freestyle 1.45.78 rh 2009 World Championships Rome, Italy July 31, 2009 Former NR
50 m backstroke 25.39 2008 Hungarian National Championships Budapest, Hungary July 9, 2008 Former NR
100 m backstroke 53.40 r 2012 Summer Olympics London, United Kingdom August 4, 2012 Former NR
200 m backstroke 1:56.69 2006 European Championships Budapest, Hungary August 5, 2006 Former NR
50 m butterfly 23.06 sf 2015 World Championships Kazan, Russia August 2, 2015 Former NR
100 m butterfly 50.86 2016 European Championships London, United Kingdom May 21, 2016 Former NR
200 m butterfly 1:52.70 2008 Summer Olympics Beijing, China August 13, 2008 Former ER
200 m individual medley 1:55.18 sf 2009 World Championships Rome, Italy July 29, 2009 NR, Former ER
400 m individual medley 4:06.16 2008 Summer Olympics Beijing, China July 29, 2009 NR, Former ER
Legend: EREuropean record; NRHungarian record;
Records not set in finals: h – heat; sf – semifinal; r – relay 1st leg; rh – relay heat 1st leg; b – B final; – en route to final mark; tt – time trial

Short course (25 m pool)

[edit]
Event Time Meet Location Date Notes
200 m freestyle 1.41.64 2009 European Short Course Championships Istanbul, Turkey December 13, 2009 Former NR
50 m backstroke 24.31 2009 Hungarian Short Course National Championships Százhalombatta, Hungary November 13, 2009 Former NR
100 m backstroke 51.29 2005 European Short Course Championships Trieste, Italy December 11, 2005 Former NR
50 m butterfly 22.88 sf 2017 European Short Course Championships Copenhagen, Denmark December 16, 2017 Former NR
100 m butterfly 49.33 2015 European Short Course Championships Netanya, Israel December 3, 2015 NR
200 m butterfly 1:49.00 2015 European Short Course Championships Netanya, Israel December 6, 2015 NR, Former ER
100 m individual medley 53.11 2012 World Cup Berlin, Germany October 20, 2012 Former NR
200 m individual medley 1.51.36 2015 European Short Course Championships Netanya, Israel December 4, 2015 NR, Former ER
400 m individual medley 3:57.27 2009 European Short Course Championships Istanbul, Turkey December 11, 2009 NR, Former WR
Legend: WRWorld record; EREuropean record; NRHungarian record;
Records not set in finals: h – heat; sf – semifinal; r – relay 1st leg; rh – relay heat 1st leg; b – B final; – en route to final mark; tt – time trial

World Records

[edit]

Cseh has set 5 world records throughout his career. All of the records were individually set in a short course (25-meter) pool.

Short course (25 m pool)

[edit]
No. Event Time Meet Location Date Status
1 200 m individual medley 1:53.46 2005 European Short Course Championships Trieste, Italy December 8, 2005 Former
2 400 m individual medley 4:00.37 2005 European Short Course Championships Trieste, Italy December 9, 2005 Former
3 200 m individual medley (2) 1:52.99 2007 European Short Course Championships Debrecen, Hungary December 13, 2007 Former
4 400 m individual medley (2) 3:59.33 2007 European Short Course Championships Debrecen, Hungary December 14, 2007 Former
5 400 m individual medley (3) 3:57.27 2009 European Short Course Championships Istanbul, Turkey December 11, 2009 Former

Awards

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Cseh László. musz.hu
  2. ^ Stewart, Mel (5 August 2015). "Watch Laszlo Cseh win 200 butterfly – world championships race video". Swimswam. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  3. ^ "Hungarian Olympic Icon Laszlo Cseh Retires from Competitive Swimming". SwimSwam. 30 July 2021. Retrieved 31 Aug 2021.
[edit]
Records
Preceded by Men's 200-metre individual medley
world record-holder (short course)

8 December 2005 – 7 April 2006
Succeeded by
Preceded by Men's 200-metre individual medley
world record-holder (short course)

13 December 2007 – 11 April 2008
Succeeded by
Preceded by Men's 400-metre individual medley
world record-holder (short course)

9 December 2005 – 16 December 2010
Succeeded by
Awards
Preceded by Hungarian Sportsman of The Year
2006
2015
Succeeded by
Preceded by European Swimmer of the Year
2005–2006
Succeeded by
Sporting positions
Preceded by Mare Nostrum Tour Overall Winner
2005
Succeeded by
Olympic Games
Preceded by Flagbearer for Hungary
(with Aida Mohamed)
Tokyo 2020
Succeeded by