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Cseh In Control; Crowd Go Wild At IM Win
Aug 11, 2010 - Craig Lord
European Championships, Budapest, day 3 finals:
Men 200m medley
In a raw display of control and technical precision, Laszlo Cseh (HUN) sent the home crowd wild as he cracked 1:58sec for the first time in three European title triumphs in the short medley. The champ, winner of three silvers in Beijing 2008 behind the man Hungarians call "the Alien" (Michael Phelps), set a championship record of 1:57.72.
His success, under pressure from Markus Rogan (AUT), made it a record seven crowns for Hungary down the years, and, as champion in 2006 and 2008, Cseh also matched the record of three crowns to one man set by Tamas Darnyi (HUN) in 1989 and matched by Jani Sievinen (FIN) in 2002.
The crowd acknowledged by raising a giant bank of pink and white placards that spelled out the Hungarian for "Good Job!" One that extended Hungary's leading historic gold medal count in the 200IM to 7.
Rogan, the 2004 champion who challenged Cseh throughout but never led, took silver in 1:58.03, with bronze going to Joe Robuck (GBR) in 1:59.46, 0.37sec up on Gal Nevo (ISR), the last man inside 2mins in what was the swiftest eight in championship history, all home in 2:00.86.
Cseh, coached by György Turi, said: "This was not my best performance but it was enough to win. I knew that I had to turn in front of Rogan at the 150m mark ... the last lap was very hot." The rest wasn't much cooler:
The opening 'fly 50m was critical though the race ran every metre of the way. Always worth watching Cseh and his skill set. Worth it too to hear that haunting Hungarian anthem or "Himnusz" (Hymn), which begins with the words "Isten, áldd meg a magyart" or God, bless the Hungarian. It is a musical poetic prayer that carries a subtitle of "From the rough centuries of the Hungarian people", words that emphasised past rather than contemporary national troubles in the 19th century and were added expressly to enable the poem to pass Habsburg censorship at a time when Austrian's ruled Hungarians. It was the other way round in the pool tonight.
At the post-race press conference, Rogan was asked if he was Cseh's friend. "Yes, I hate him," came the reply through a smile. The Austrian said that he would race on until he could beat Cseh. An Hungarian colleague suggested that he would be a very old swimmer. Smiles all round.
Roebuck was smiling too. He had watched Loughborough teammate Fran Halsall win the 100m free for Britain for the first time since the crown went to Susan Rolph in 1999, the last European championships to which Britain sent a fully rested national team. Sporting a stubbly chin, Robeuck noted that Britain, with three gold, two silver and two bronze medals won in three days, was all the more relaxed for having taken Budapest in its stride towards Delhi in October.
The pressure on everyone but him, he "felt really relaxed and just got on with the job". That taught him how to approach big moments, and there are many of those on the way to a home Games at London 2012 for the Brits. Roebuck, coached by Ian Armiger, had won the only medal won by a British man in a medley final before and or since David Wilkie claimed gold in 1974.
History unfolding:
Effect on race on all-time top 10:
Euro podiums:
Euro finals:
From the archive: Since 1970 and the introduction of the short medley, Hungary leads the way with 6 crowns, the great Tamas Darnyi accounting for three of those, 1985 to 1989. On that last occasion, the closest anyone came to Darnyi was Raik Hannemann, for the GDR, who holds a worthy place in swimming history for telling the truth of a terrible tale. Michael Oettel, research director at a drug company called Jenapharm in Saxony in East German days, applied androstenedione intranasally. Studies revealed that plasma testosterone levels skyrocketed shortly after use designed to enhance muscle strength and performance - and cheat. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Hannemann became a journalist and described the nasal spray he had been given under the GDR's State Plan 14:25 as being "...like a volcanic eruption". It was mandatory for many swimmers in the GDR back then, and, said Hannemann, "it tore up my nasal membranes".
Records
Shiny suit era
February 1 2008
