László Cseh is a swimmer who has competed for Hungary. He competed at the 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020 Summer Olympic Games.
Cseh was the top Hungarian butterfly and all-around swimmer through the 2000s and 2010s, though he never attained a single gold. At his first Olympics in 2004, he claimed his first individual medal with a bronze in the 400 metres individual medley, trailing the American duo of Michael Phelps and Erik Vendt by four seconds. He also attempted to add a medal in the 200, but he barely missed the podium by 0.04 of a second behind George Bovell.
Beijing 2008 marked the peak of Cseh's swimming career. There, he won his first ever silver in the 400 metres individual medley (IM) and added two more each in the 200 metres butterfly and 200 IM, finishing second behind Phelps. In both medley races, he also placed ahead of the bronze medalist Ryan Lochte.
At his third Games in 2012, Cseh entered the same program from Beijing with the addition of two relay races. He narrowly missed the top eight final in the 400 IM by 0.07 of a second and landed on the twelfth spot in the semifinals of the 200 metres butterfly. He redeemed to add a bronze to his medal haul in the 200 IM with a time of 1:56.22, trailing Phelps and Lochte by more than a full second.
Cseh shortened his program to butterfly races when he competed for his fourth Olympics in 2016. There, he, Phelps, and Chad le Clos touched the wall together in a historic three-way tie for silver in the 100 metres butterfly with a matching 51.14, three-quarters of a second (0.75) behind the winner Joseph Schooling. He also entered the other half of the butterfly double (200), but he dropped off the podium to seventh.
At his fifth and final Games in 2020, Cseh was selected to carry the Hungarian flag during the opening ceremony with Aida Mohamed. He spared from behind to take the seventh spot in the finals of the 200 IM with a time of 1:57.68, missing the podium by more than a full second. Shortly after Tokyo 2020, Cseh retired from competitive swimming.
His father László Cseh was a two-time Olympic backstroke swimmer.
Olympic Results[]
Year | Event | Rank |
---|---|---|
2004 | Men's 100m backstroke | 6th |
Men's 200m individual medley | 4th | |
Men's 400m individual medley | ||
Men's 4x100m medley relay | 7th | |
2008 | Men's 200m butterfly | |
Men's 200m individual medley | ||
Men's 400m individual medley | ||
2012 | Men's 200m butterfly | 12th |
Men's 200m individual medley | ||
Men's 400m individual medley | 9th | |
Men's 4x200m freestyle relay | 8th | |
Men's 4x100m medley relay | 5th | |
2016 | Men's 100m butterfly | |
Men's 200m butterfly | 7th | |
2020 | Men's 200m individual medley | 7th |
2004[]
Discipline | Round | Time | |
---|---|---|---|
100 metres backstroke | Heats | 54.80 | PR |
Semifinal | 54.86 | ||
Final | 54.61 | PR | |
200 metres individual medley | Heats | 1:59.50 | PR |
Semifinal | 1:59.65 | ||
Final | 1:58.84 | PR | |
400 metres individual medley | Heats | 4:14.26 | |
Final | 4:12.15 | ||
4x100 metres medley relay | Heats | 3:37.27 (55.22 split) |
|
Final | 3:37.46 (54.89 split) |
2008[]
Discipline | Round | Time | |
---|---|---|---|
200 metres butterfly | Heats | 1:54.48 | PR |
Semifinal | 1:54.35 | PR | |
Final | 1:52.70 | AR | |
200 metres individual medley | Heats | 1:58.29 | |
Semifinal | 1:58.19 | ||
Final | 1:56.52 | AR | |
400 metres individual medley | Heats | 4:09.26 | PR |
Final | 4:06.16 | AR |
2012[]
Discipline | Round | Time | |
---|---|---|---|
200 metres butterfly | Heats | 1:55.86 | |
Semifinal | 1:55.88 | ||
Final | Did not advance | ||
200 metres individual medley | Heats | 1:57.20 | |
Semifinal | 1:56.74 | ||
Final | 1:56.22 | ||
400 metres individual medley | Heats | 4:13.40 | |
Final | Did not advance | ||
4x200 metres freestyle relay | Heats | 7:11.64 (1:48.19 split) |
|
Final | 7:13.66 (1:48.06 split) |
||
4x100 metres medley relay | Heats | 3:34.44 (53.78 split, NR) |
NR |
Final | 3:33.02 (53.40 split, NR) |
NR |
2016[]
Discipline | Round | Time |
---|---|---|
100 metres butterfly | Heats | 51.52 |
Semifinal | 51.57 | |
Final | 51.14 | |
200 metres butterfly | Heats | 1:55.14 |
Semifinal | 1:55.18 | |
Final | 1:56.24 |
2020[]
Discipline | Round | Time |
---|---|---|
200 metres individual medley | Heats | 1:57.51 |
Semifinal | 1:57.64 | |
Final | 1:57.68 |