Ohio sophomore Zita Szoke had a historic weekend, breaking Mid-American Conference records in Federal Way, Washington, at the NCAA Tournament. Following the NCAA Tournament’s close Saturday, Szoke was named an All-American, the first Ohio swimmer to be named among the nation’s best in 25 years.
Szoke finished 20th in the 200-yard freestyle Friday and eleventh place in the 100-yard freestyle Saturday, the highest in an NCAA event by an Ohio swimmer since 1995. Her time of 47.62 seconds in the latter broke both Ohio and MAC records, something Szoke has made a habit of.
Szoke, a Hódmezővásárhely, Hungary native, has been a record-breaker since she first stepped foot in Athens in 2023. Her freshman season was capped off with several pool records at the Aquatic Center in Athens, winning the MAC Championship in the 200-yard freestyle before being named All-MAC First Team, MAC Freshman Swimmer of the Year and an NCAA qualifier – the first Bobcat to do so since 2014.
Although her record-breaking ways haven’t changed, Szoke’s continued ascension is not without goal-setting and attention to improvement.
“She came to (the NCAA Championships) as a freshman and said, ‘Hey, here are the things I need to improve on,’” Ohio coach Mason Norman said in a social media post by Ohio Athletics. “She was able to do all that. She checked every box she wanted to check this year.”
Last season, Szoke recorded impressive personal numbers in each event she competed in. Her freshman times of 22.42, 48.04 and 1:45.87 in the 50-yard, 100-yard and 200-yard freestyles are all school records, and she’s even dropped time in a handful of events, which is a testament to her development.
“It’s a process, right?” Norman said. “I think she’s really developed in her starts and her turns this year, that’s been the biggest piece … (Szoke’s) getting faster throughout the year. She went faster at NCAA’s than she did at MAC’s last year. She went faster in-season than she did at NCAA’s last year, and so obviously the next step is to go faster at NCAA’s than she did at MAC’s this year.”
In the 2025 MAC Championships, held in Buffalo from Feb. 26 to March 1, Szoke was again a champion. She placed first in the 50-yard, 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle, breaking MAC Championship records in the latter two, as well as finishing first as a participant in Ohio’s 200-yard medley relay team. Her performance earned Szoke her second All-MAC First Team selection in two years.
Szoke’s career in just two years in Athens has already put her among the greatest to swim for the Bobcats. At just 21 years old, there isn’t a record that seems out of reach for the sophomore sensation, and with her unending motor to continue improving, the places Szoke will look to take Ohio are as high as she wishes them to be.
“It’s a privilege to be able to coach an athlete like Zita and get Ohio to this stage,” Norman said.
