Hubert Kos Has Chance to Shift 200 Backstroke’s Old-School Dominance
Take a look at the top-three performers in each of the 34 individual events contested at the international level. In 33 of the disciplines, at least one of the swimmers is active and training toward the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The outlier? The men’s 200-meter backstroke, where the fastest four athletes in history have all retired from the sport. But with Hubert Kos lurking, a change seems likely.
For the past 16-plus years, American Aaron Peirsol has reigned as the world-record holder in the 200 backstroke. Racing at the 2009 World Championships in Rome, the future Hall of Famer registered a time of 1:51.92 to claim the gold medal. He was followed to the wall at the Foro Italico by Japan’s Ryosuke Irie, who went 1:52.51 for the still-standing No. 2 performance of all-time. It’s worth noting that those swims were recorded at the peak of the super-suit era.
The United States’ Ryan Lochte owns the No. 3 slot, thanks to the 1:52.96 performance he delivered for the gold medal at the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai. Rounding out the top four is Australian Mitch Larkin, who stopped the clock in 1:53.17 during 2015 World Cup action in the Dubai.
As the reigning Olympic champion in the 200 backstroke and a two-time world titlist, Kos has firmly established himself as a legend in the event. The next step is moving into 1:52 territory and taking aim at Peirsol’s world record, which hasn’t been approached since it was set. Already, Kos is the fastest performer in the short-course versions of the 200 backstroke, having gone 1:45.12 in SCM and 1:34.13 in SCY.
Although Kos has been a prominent figure on the world stage for several years, he took a major step forward at the 2025 World Championships in Singapore. With a winning time of 1:53.19, Kos jumped to No. 5 on the all-time list and was a full second faster than his two previous best times, a 1:54.14 at the 2023 World Champs and a 1:54.26 at the 2024 Olympics. For good measure, he went 1:54.21 at the U.S. Open in December.
Kos’ next major competition will be this summer’s European Championships in Paris. The University of Texas standout has multiple options for his schedule, but if he opts to contest the 200 backstroke, it will be interesting to see how far up the all-time chart he will move, and how close to Peirsol’s vaunted record he can get.
Men’s 200 Backstroke (All-Time Rankings)
1. Aaron Peirsol (United States) – 1:51.92
2. Ryosuke Irie (Japan) – 1:52.51
3. Ryan Lochte (United States) – 1:52.96
4. Mitch Larkin (Australia) – 1:53.17
5. Hubert Kos (Hungary) – 1:53.19