Even the biggest have dilemmas: our Olympian wondered if he should swim again after the five-ring games in London.
Katinka Hosszú is continuing her swimming career, and after giving birth, she started training again with the aim of participating in her sixth Olympics in Paris in the summer of 2024. The three-time Olympic, nine-time world and 15-time European champion athlete is expected to return next April-May to fight for the five-ring participation.
In an interview with Index, Katinka Hosszú said about the first months of motherhood that it was not easy at all at first, but she learned a lot by becoming flexible:
"The fundamental challenge is that, as an elite athlete, my time was allocated exactly to the minute, I knew in advance when what was waiting for me, and it was completely overturned. Now I'm not the one who plans what kind of day I'll have, what will fit into the program, when I can go to work out or if I sleep at all, and if so, how much," she explained, adding: motherhood is a big adventure, but with all that, it's an amazing happiness. she is experiencing the development of her little girl.
"After Kamília's birth, it was medically expected that I should not move at all for six weeks, but towards the end, even though I was careful, I cheated a little. Since then, I can now train for a fixed two to three hours a day, which is significantly less than the eight or nine hour workload of the old days, but still much more than nothing," Katinka said about starting to train again.
"I'm trying to get in shape as soon as possible, to get back to a level where I can compete. To this day, I love swimming, the swimming pool is my second home, I never thought otherwise, I think this feeling will accompany me for the rest of my life," said the Olympian, who, according to
the moment of return can come around April-May, when you no longer only measure the time for yourself in the pool.
"I am preparing to get out, I see a chance for the Paris Olympics. It would be great, I will do everything for it," said Katinka Hosszú, to whom the 200 and 400 medley are still the closest. "The mixed is my world, it is enough if there is a little backstroke within it. I am preparing for this, it can be clearly stated, the motivation to continue is to show myself again at the Paris Olympics".
The swimmer also spoke about the difficulties: "I think there are difficult periods in the life of every top athlete, for me it was after the London Olympics, when I seriously thought about whether I should swim again. I think it was worth continuing."
Cover photo: Katinka Hosszú after the heats of the women's 400m individual medley at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics at the Tokyo Aquatic Center on July 24, 2021.
Source: Tamás Kovács / MTI
