World Short Course Swimming Championship: The goal is the gold – Szebasztián Szabó

– What's with the beard?
– You're not the first to ask, at the national short course championships in Kaposvár some people even touched it – Szebasztián Szabó (Győr Swimming Sports Club), who has been preparing for the World Championships in Melbourne since the end of November with his club mate Zsuzsanna Jakabos, said. – I'm keeping the beard until the start of the competition. I decided to let it grow during the preparation and shave it only before my first event.

– Before we get into your world championship schedule, tell us why you decided to do the 50m backstroke at the national championships in Kaposvár, which you won. Are you expanding your repertoire?
– I already competed in this event at last year's World Championships, but as I didn't win a medal, maybe many people didn't notice that. I'm doing well in underwater swimming - at fifty meters, it equals about thirty, and only the rest is swimming. At a national championship, I can afford to test myself even more, to see how I'm doing, and where I am in my preparation. But I shouldn't be expected to swim 50m backstroke in big competitions in the future, this was just a little excursion.

– The trip to Melbourne is a slightly bigger excursion: only two Hungarians, you and Zsuzsanna Jakabos, are competing in the World Short Course Swimming Championships. Why did you decide to compete?
– On the one hand, because it is held on a short course, which still suits me. On the other hand, because I am still the world record holder in the 50m butterfly (21.75 – the ed.) with Nicolas Santos of Brazil. So, this is an obligation. And there's a third reason: before I went to Abu Dhabi last year, I contracted the coronavirus, so I only had two weeks to prepare, and I finished fourth. I felt bad about that, because I was in really good shape, but then the illness got in the way. I want to achieve in Melbourne what I didn't achieve a year ago.

– Which means?
– If I come home with a medal, it's already worth the trip.

– Are you competing in the usual events at the World Championships?
– I've signed up for the 50 and 100m butterfly and the 50 and 100m freestyle, so I think that's enough.

– And of these, the 50m butterfly is the most important, isn't it?
– Yes, that is indisputable. I want to improve in the 50m freestyle in the 50-meter pool, and we're aiming to do that for the Paris Olympics. However, in the short course, the focus is on the butterfly, both on the 100 butterfly and the 50 ones. Though, while I'm here, I'll also be competing in the two freestyle events.

– How's your jetlag?
– Luckily, we arrived even earlier than usual, so we had almost three weeks to train on site.

– To win a medal...
– Well, I'll say it then: I want to go home with a gold medal. I'm definitely one of the favorites in the 50m butterfly, but I can't predict what will happen in the race. It's only fifty meters, and it's a world championship – those in Melbourne can swim.

– A swimmer usually thinks in time results. What can you promise us in this respect?
– I swam the world record in the 50 butterfly at the European Short Course Championships in Kazan in early November last year. In addition, before that, I had worse times at the national championships than I did this year in Kaposvár. If I look at it, I should be in better shape than I was last year at the European Championships. But I can't stress enough that this is still a world championship - at the same time, my plan is to break the world record in the 50 butterfly. If I do that, if I really manage to get into good shape for the competition, the other events will go well, too.

Schedule of Day 1
Tuesday, December 13
Heats, 1
Women's 400m freestyle, Women's 100m backstroke, Men's 100m backstroke, Women's 50m butterfly, Men's50 m butterfly (Szebasztián Szabó), Women's 200m medley (Zsuzsanna Jakabos), Men's 200m medley, Women's 4x100m freestyle relay, Men's 4x100m freestyle relay, Men's 1500m freestyle (slow heat)
Semi-finals, finals, 9.30
Women's 400m freestyle, Women's 50m butterfly, Men's 50m butterfly, Women's 200m medley, Men's 200m medley, Women's 100m backstroke, Men's 100m backstroke, Men's 1500m freestyle, Women's 4x100m freestyle relay, Men's 4x100m freestyle relay