By Jerry Durney
Often, an athlete needs a few years before reaching his or her full potential and blossoming into a top gameday talent.
Rare is the athlete who performs in the upper echelon from the moment he or she steps foot on campus.
During the 2023–2024 season—his first with Florida Tech—men’s swimmer Akos Hajagos made it clear to which category he belongs.
Hajagos was named Sunshine State Conference (SSC) Freshman of the Year following his debut season, in which he earned seven first-place finishes and 14 top-three performances, also breaking three program records. He concluded his campaign in March, earning second place in the 200-meter butterfly at the NCAA Division II National Championship in addition to All-America honors in the 400-meter individual medley.
While his impact on Florida Tech was immediate, Hajagos’ path to becoming a competitive swimmer was not always direct. Born in Budapest, Hungary, before living in Germany, Dubai and Czechia, Hajagos played a wide variety of sports as a child, from soccer to tennis to golf. He began swimming at age 9, and soon after, a brush with greatness inspired him.
“I decided, when I was about 10 or 11, to focus on swimming because when we lived in Dubai, they were hosting World Cups [for different sports] there every two months,” Hajagos says. “That really motivated me, to see all the big stars on the big stages. We saw Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte swimming there. When I saw that … I was like, ‘Yeah, I want to do this when I’m older.’”
The business administration student says Florida Tech’s academic diversity was “a really big pull” for him when he was looking to continue his education. But several other factors contributed to his decision, as well.
“Definitely, the weather, beautiful vegetation, palm trees and the botanical gardens are amazing,” Hajagos says. “The incredible architecture of the buildings—everything seems to be super new. The pool is beautiful; I like that we get to swim outside year-round. So, just little things like that made my decision to come here.”
Florida Tech assistant coach Ben Klimczak had heard plenty about Hajagos and what he could become going into the 2023–2024 season. But as the team began to ramp up practices ahead of the season, Klimczak was blown away by what he already was.
Indeed, that dedication led Hajagos to some impressive results. He won the first race in his first meet as a Panther and scored the seventh most points of any individual swimmer at the 2024 SSC Championships, which earned him First Team All-SSC honors.
Every Florida Tech swimmer aims to compete at the NCAA Championships, and Hajagos became the third freshman Panther ever—and first in eight years— to do so.
“The challenge, as the season goes, is getting harder and harder. But even in September, those are pretty challenging practices,” Klimczak says. “And he’s just crushing them, while really talented athletes are struggling with these workouts. I’m watching him do stuff that a freshman in college, by all rights, should really struggle with. I’m giving him really difficult stuff, and he’s asking for more. He’s the kind of guy who loves hard work and does it faster than everyone else. That’s kind of when I knew he was—is—something special.”
He competed in the 200-meter individual medley and 400-meter individual medley, but it was his performance in the 200-meter butterfly that tied a bow on his incredible season.
Going into the week of competition in mid-March in Geneva, Ohio, Klimczak felt confident in Hajagos, who had already cut his time in the event from the conference championships just a few weeks prior.
“My first day back on deck with him [after the SSC Championships]—I’ve never seen someone mentally snap back this fast from a huge meet,” Klimczak says. “It was in my mind the whole time that we had a chance to get him to the top five because I watched him train every day, and his paces were spot on to do something special.”
Hajagos posted a time of 1:44.57, finishing one-hundredth of a second ahead of third place. For the young man from Budapest who had grown up wanting to be like Michael Phelps, the realization of what he had just achieved and the emotions that followed came just as fast as he was.
“I was just happy about my time, honestly. Finishing second was just a bonus,” Hajagos says. “I could have been fourth or fifth easily. But when I saw that time, I took a couple of seconds to digest what just happened. And then, I got out and walked to Coach Ben. And then, I kind of realized how this is a big achievement.”
In that moment, Klimczak reminded Hajagos what he’d done to get there and celebrated what could be to come.
“He was in absolute disbelief,” Klimczak says. “He was in a daze; he was so happy—like he didn’t expect it. We all just gave him a giant hug, and he kept saying, ‘I can’t believe I just did that! How did we do that?’ over and over again. I’m like, ‘Because you’re you, man!’”
Instead of resting or basking in the glow of his swimming success when the season ended, Hajagos joined the Panther men’s rowing team after he learned of its Hungarian contingent. He ended his rowing season with a third-place finish in the M2x at the Dad Vail Regatta.
The biggest reward that rowing can offer him, Hajagos says, is the chance to learn again with his friends.
“Being at zero, a complete beginner. And also just the guys, you know. It’s a smaller team, so we can get to know each other better,” he says. “And I just love how it’s a different type of movement, different muscle groups, keeping active.”
When it comes to Hajagos, only one question remains: What’s next?
At A Glance
SPORT: Swimming, Rowing
POSITION: IM/Butterfly
MAJOR: Business Administration, B.S.
HOMETOWN: Budapest, Hungary
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Named First Team All-American in 200 Fly and Honorable Mention All-American in 400 IM; At the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships, finished runner-up and set a program record in the 200 IM (1:44.57) and finished third in the B Finals of the 400 IM (3:51.92); Earned First Team All-SSC; Finished the season with seven first-place finishes and fourteen top-three finishes
NAMED: Sunshine State Conference (SSC) Freshman of the Year
FUN FACT: He likes to jump out of planes on the weekends. Seriously, he’s been skydiving more times than we can count. He is extremely adventurous.
This piece was featured in the fall 2024 edition of Florida Tech Magazine.
