Dávid Betlehem

The native form of this personal name is Betlehem Dávid. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

Dávid Betlehem (born 4 September 2003) is a Hungarian competitive pool and open water swimmer. At the 2022 World Aquatics Championships, he won a silver medal in the open water 4×1500 metre team relay. At the 2020 European Aquatics Championships, he won a bronze medal in the 5 kilometre open water team relay. At the 2022 World Junior Open Water Championships, he won gold medals in the 10 kilometre open water swim and team relay. He won the silver medal in the 1500 metre freestyle at the 2021 European Junior Swimming Championships.

Dávid Betlehem

Personal information
National team	Hungary
Born	(2003-09-04) 4 September 2003 (age 21)[1] Szombathely, Hungary
Sport
Sport	Pool swimming, open water swimming
Event(s)	400 m, 800 m, 1500 m, 5 km, 10 km, open water team relay
College team	North Carolina State University
Club	Balaton Úszó Klub
Coached by	László Szokolai
Medal record Representing  Hungary Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 0 0 1 World Championships 0 2 1 European Championships 2 1 2 Total 2 3 4 Men's open water swimming Olympics 2024 Paris 10 km open water World Championships 2022 Budapest Team relay 2023 Fukuoka Team relay 2024 Doha Team relay European Championships 2024 Belgrade 5 km open water 2024 Belgrade Team relay 2022 Rome Team relay 2020 Budapest Team relay 2024 Belgrade 10 km open water World Junior Open Water Championships 2022 Seychelles 10 km open water 2022 Seychelles Team relay 2018 Eilat 5 km open water European Junior Open Water Championships 2019 Račice 5 km U16 team relay 2021 Paris 5 km U19 team relay 2022 Setúbal 5 km U19 team relay 2019 Račice 7.5 km open water Men's pool swimming European Junior Championships 2021 Rome 1500 m freestyle European Youth Olympic Festival 2019 Baku 1500 m freestyle

Background

Betlehem was born 4 September 2003 in Szombathely, Hungary, and trains with coach László Szokolai as part of the Balaton Úszó Klub swim club.^[1]

Career

2018

At the 2018 FINA World Junior Open Water Swimming Championships, held in September in the Gulf of Eilat by Eilat, Israel, Betlehem won the bronze medal in the 5 kilometre open water swim with a time of 58 minutes and 56.5 seconds, finishing less than three seconds behind gold medalist Aleksandr Stepanov of Russia and one second behind silver medalist Ivan Morgun of Russia.^[2]

2021

Betlehem started his competition at the 2020 European Aquatics Championships, held in Budapest, Hungary, with the 5 kilometre open water swim on 12 May 2021, placing twelfth with a time of 56:00.4.^[3] Three days later, he won a bronze medal as part of the 5 kilometre open water team relay, contributing to a final time of 54 minutes and 18.5 seconds with relay teammates Réka Rohács, Anna Olasz, and Kristóf Rasovszky.^[4] For his third and final event, the 1500 metre freestyle held as part of pool swimming competition, he swam a time of 15:18.18 in the preliminaries on 18 May, placing twelfth overall.^[5]

Two months later, at the 2021 European Junior Swimming Championships, held at Stadio Olimpico del Nuoto in Rome, Italy, Betlehem won the bronze medal in the 1500 metre freestyle with a personal best time of 15:02.28.^[6][7][8] In November, he competed at the 2021 European Short Course Swimming Championships, conducted at the Palace of Water Sports in Kazan, Russia, placing seventh in the 800 metre freestyle, eleventh in the 1500 metre freestyle, and seventeenth in the 400 metre freestyle.^[9] The following month, as part of the first ever FINA 4×1500 metre mixed gender open water team relay event, contested at the Abu Dhabi Aquatics Festival in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates for the last leg of the 2021 Marathon Swim World Series, he swam the third leg of the relay to help win the silver medal in a final time of 1:06:51.7.^[10]

2022

World open water season beginnings

In May 2022, on the first day of the first leg of the 2022 Marathon Swim World Series, held at Albarquel in Setúbal, Portugal, Betlehem placed seventh in the 10 kilometre swim with a time of 1:55:14.70.^[11] The next day, he won a bronze medal as part of the 4×1500 metre team relay event.^[12] At the 2022 World Aquatics Championships the following month, with open water swimming contested in the waters of Lupa Lake in Budapest, Hungary, he started off with a silver medal in the 4×1500 metre open water team relay, helping finish less than three seconds behind the gold medal team from Germany in 1:04:43.0.^[13] In the 5 kilometre open water swim the following day, 27 June, he placed seventh with a time of 54 minutes and 22.0 seconds.^[14] For his final event, on 29 June, Betlehem persisted to be the only male swimmer representing Hungary to cross the finish line in the 10 kilometre open water swim, after teammate Kristóf Rasovszky was kicked in the stomach and had to withdraw from competition halfway through the race for medical reasons, placing fifth in a time of 1 hour, 51 minutes and 29.8 seconds.^[15]

At the second leg of the 2022 Marathon Swim World Series, held in early July at Parc de la Villette in Paris, France, Betlehem initially placed third in the 10 kilometre swim with a time of 1 hour, 51 minutes and 41.95 seconds.^[16] However, FINA updated the medals and times for the event to change his placing from third to fourth after reviewing the results post-competition, instead allocating the medal to Nicholas Sloman of Australia.^[17]

2022 Hungarian Open Water Championships

Later in the month, at the 2022 Hungarian National Open Water Championships, Betlehem was the fastest male competitor of all ages, junior and senior, with a time of 1:52:26.5, however due to his age, 18 years old, he was too young to be eligible for a senior title, thus he won the junior national title instead of the senior national title.^[18][19]

2022 European Aquatics Championships

Betlehem was one of two Hungarian swimmers named to the official roster for Hungary in both pool swimming and open water swimming for the 2022 European Aquatics Championships, held in August in Rome, Italy.^[20] The first day of open water swimming competition at the Championships, 20 August, he placed seventh in the 5 kilometre open water swim, finishing in a time of 52:34.6, which was 21.1 seconds behind gold medalist Gregorio Paltrinieri of Italy.^[21][22][23] Originally, he was supposed to compete with the other swimmers in the event on 18 August, however extreme weather and waves resulted in all competitors competing two days after the intended date.^[24] In his first event on the final day, 21 August, he finished in a time of 1:51:09.8 in the 10 kilometre open water swim, placing ninth.^[25][26] Finishing off the Championships with the open water mixed team relay later in the day, he helped win the silver medal in a time of 59:53.9, swimming the third leg of the relay.^[27]

World open water season conclusion

Less than one week later, Betlehem won the bronze medal in the 10 kilometre open water swim at leg three of the 2022 Marathon Swim World Series, held at Lake Mégantic in Lac-Mégantic, Canada, finishing in a time of 1:50:52.00 and bringing his total ranking across the first three legs of the World Series up to third.^[28][29][30] In September, at the 2022 World Junior Open Water Swimming Championships in Seychelles, he won the gold medal in the 10 kilometre open water swim with a time of 1:53:10.30.^[31][32] The following day, he helped win the gold medal in the 4×1500 metre open water relay, anchoring the relay to a first-place finish and a final time of 1:11:20.10.^[33] Two months later, at the final leg of the World Series, in November in Eilat, Israel, he won the bronze medal in the 10 kilometre open water swim with a time of 1:46:44.20 and ranked as the third overall highest-scoring male competitor across the entire World Series circuit.^[34]

2022 Hungarian Short Course Championships

At the 2022 Hungarian National Short Course Championships held in mid-November in Kaposvár, Betlehem won the gold medal and national title in the 1500 metre freestyle with a personal best time of 14:36.83, which was over two full seconds faster than the second-place finisher.^[35][36] In his other events, he won the silver medal in the 800 metre freestyle with a personal best time of 7:39.54, won the bronze medal in the 400 metre freestyle with a personal best time of 3:43.69, and placed sixth in the 200 metre freestyle with a personal best time of 1:46.97.^[37][38][39]

2023

At the 2023 LEN Open Water Cup stop held in March in Eilat, Israel, Betlehem won the gold medal in the 5 kilometre open water swim with a time of 51:38.0 that was over 15 seconds faster than the second-place finisher.^[40] On 19 April, at the 2023 Hungarian National Championships in Kaposvár, he won the silver medal in the 1500 metre freestyle with a personal best, 2023 World Aquatics Championships, and 2024 Olympic qualifying time of 14:59.65.^[41] The fourth and final day, he won the national title in the 800 metre freestyle with a personal best, 2023 World Championships, and 2024 Olympic qualifying time of 7:49.59, finishing 4.08 seconds ahead of silver medalist Kristóf Rasovszky.^[42][43] The following month, he won a bronze medal in the 10 kilometre open water swim at the leg of the 2023 FINA Open Water Tour in Setúbal, Portugal, finishing behind two Italians with a time of 1:53:12.10.^[44] He won a gold medal in the 4×1500 metre mixed open water relay the next day, helping finish in a time of 1:24:13.10.^[45]

International championships

Open water and long course metres (50 m pool)

Meet	1500 m freestyle	5 km open water	10 km open water	open water team relay
Junior level
WJOWC 2018	—
EJC 2021		—	—	—
WJOWC 2022	—
Senior level
EC 2020	12th	12th
WC 2022		7th	5th
EC 2022		7th	9th
Olympics 2024	4th	—		—

Short course metres (25 m pool)

Meet	400 m freestyle	800 m freestyle	1500 m freestyle
EC 2021	17th	7th	11th

Personal best times

Long course metres (50 m pool)

Event	Time		Meet	Location	Date	Ref
100 m freestyle	51.68	r	2023 Hungarian National Championships	Kaposvár	21 April 2023	[46]
200 m freestyle	1:49.60		2023 Hungarian National Championships	Kaposvár	21 April 2023	[47]
400 m freestyle	3:48.33		2023 Hungarian National Championships	Kaposvár	20 April 2023	[48]
800 m freestyle	7:49.59		2023 Hungarian National Championships	Kaposvár	22 April 2023	[42][43]
1500 m freestyle	14:45.59	h, NR	2024 Olympic Games	Paris, France	3 August 2024	[49]

Legend: h – preliminary heat; r – relay 1st leg

Short course metres (25 m pool)

Event	Time	Meet	Location	Date	Ref
200 m freestyle	1:46.97	2022 Hungarian National Short Course Championships	Kaposvár	18 November 2022	[39]
400 m freestyle	3:43.69	2022 Hungarian National Short Course Championships	Kaposvár	16 November 2022	[38]
800 m freestyle	7:39.54	2022 Hungarian National Short Course Championships	Kaposvár	19 November 2022	[37]
1500 m freestyle	14:36.83	2022 Hungarian National Short Course Championships	Kaposvár	17 November 2022	[35]

Marathon Swim World Series circuits

Betlehem has won the following medals at Marathon Swim World Series circuits.^[50]

Edition	Individual			Relay			Total
	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2021	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
2022	0	0	2	0	0	1	3
2023	0	0	1	1	0	0	2
Total	0	0	3	1	1	1	6

References

1. "Betlehem Dávid" (in Hungarian). Hungarian Swimming Association. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
2. FINA (6 September 2018). "Eilat 2018: Fina World Junior Open Water Swimming Championships: Results 5 Km". Microplus Informatica. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
3. LEN (12 May 2021). "Hungary 2020 LEN European Aquatics Championships: Results 5km Men". Microplus Informatica. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
4. LEN (15 May 2021). "Hungary 2020 LEN European Aquatics Championships: Results 5km Team Event". Microplus Informatica. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
5. LEN (18 May 2021). "Hungary 2020 LEN European Aquatics Championships: Results 1500m Freestyle Men Preliminary". Microplus Informatica. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
6. LEN (12 July 2021). "LEN European Junior Swimming Championships Rome – Italy: Complete Results Book". Microplus Informatica. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
7. Bruckner, Vince (8 July 2021). "Úszás: Betlehem Dávid ujjhegynyivel maradt le az aranyról 1500 m gyorson a római junior Eb-n" (in Hungarian). utanpotlassport.hu. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
8. "Betlehem Dávid ezüstérmes a junior úszó-Eb-n" (in Hungarian). Origo. 8 July 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
9. LEN (7 November 2021). "2021 European Short Course Swimming Championships Kazan (RUS): Complete Results Book". Microplus Informatica. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
10. "Italy wins inaugural Open Water Mixed Team Relay in Abu Dhabi". FINA. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
11. "FINA Marathon Swim World Series 2022 – Leg 1: Results Men 10km". FINA. 28 May 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
12. "FINA Marathon Swim World Series 2022 – Leg 1: Results Mixed 4x1500m". FINA. 29 May 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
13. Pérez, Marta (26 June 2022). "España, descalificada en el relevo de 4x1500 de aguas abiertas" (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
14. "Vizes vb: Betlehem Dávid hetedik, Rasovszky célfotóval kilencedik 5 kilométeren" (in Hungarian). Nemzeti Sport. 27 June 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
15. "A 18 éves Betlehem Dávid 5., Rasovszkyt hasba rúgták, ezért feladta" (in Hungarian). 24.hu. 29 June 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
16. "Nuoto: World Series Fondo; Paltrinieri vince a Parigi" (in Italian). ANSA. 9 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
17. "FINA Marathon Swim World Series 2022 – Leg 2: Results Men 10km". FINA. 10 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
18. "Rasovszky és Olasz újra bajnok, de a juniorok már a nyakukon" (in Hungarian). Hungarian Swimming Association. 17 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
19. "Betlehem Dávid volt a leggyorsabb, de Rasovszky Kristóf a magyar bajnok a nyíltvízi úszóknál" (in Hungarian). M4 Sport. 17 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
20. "The Hungarian swimming team ready for Roma 2022. Aces Milák and Hosszú expected to shine" Archived 8 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine. roma2022.eu. 25 July 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
21. "Vizes Eb – Ilyen eredmények születtek a nyíltvízi úszás 5 kilométeres versenyében" (in Hungarian). alon.hu. 20 August 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
22. "Kopasz arany-, az 500-as női kenukettes ezüstérmes; nem a magyaroké volt az 5 km-es nyíltvízi úszás – élő hírfolyam az Eb-k szombati napjáról" (in Hungarian). M4 Sport. 20 August 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
23. "Betlehem Dávid (18) hetedik lett 5 km-en a római felnőtt Európa-bajnokságon" (in Hungarian). utanpotlassport.hu. 20 August 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
24. "Óriási hullámokkal is meg kellett küzdeniük a magyar úszóknak" (in Hungarian). Magyar Nemzet. 20 August 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
25. Kovács, Erika (21 August 2022). "Vizes Eb: Rasovszky és Olasz hatodik tíz kilométeren" (in Hungarian). Nemzeti Sport. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
26. "Rasovszky Kristóf és Olasz Anna is hatodik, Betlehem Dávid kilencedik tíz kilométeren" (in Hungarian). M4 Sport. 21 August 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
27. "Ezüstérmet szerzett a magyar váltó a nyíltvízi úszók csapatversenyében" (in Hungarian). beol.hu. 21 August 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
28. "FINA Marathon Swim World Series 2022 – Leg 3: Results Men 10km". FINA. 27 August 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
29. "Betlehem Dávid első egyéni dobogója – Rasovszky már vezet összetettben". Hungarian Swimming Association. 27 August 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
30. Csurka, Gergely (28 August 2022). "Nyílt vízi úszás: Betlehem Dávid első egyéni vk-dobogója" (in Hungarian). Nemzeti Sport. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
31. "FINA World Junior Open Water Swimming Championships 2022: Results Men 10km". FINA. 17 September 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
32. "Junior nyílt vízi úszó-vb: Betlehem Dávid és Fábián Bettina is aranyérmes". Nemzeti Sport. 17 September 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
33. "FINA World Junior Open Water Swimming Championships 2022: Mixed 4x1500m". FINA. 18 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
34. "Paltrinieri, Rasovszky share men's 10km overall title of Marathon Swim World Series". China Internet Information Center. 12 November 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
35. "Szerencsejáték Zrt. Rövidpályás OB 2022. Abszolút Eredmény: 1500 m férfi gyors" (in Hungarian). Hungarian Swimming Association. 17 November 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
36. "Ilyen is ritkán van: Milák Kristóf nem nyert meg egy úszóversenyt" (in Hungarian). Origo. 17 November 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
37. "Szerencsejáték Zrt. Rövidpályás OB 2022. Abszolút Eredmény: 800 m férfi gyors" (in Hungarian). Hungarian Swimming Association. 19 November 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
38. "Szerencsejáték Zrt. Rövidpályás OB 2022. Abszolút Eredmény: 400 m férfi gyors" (in Hungarian). Hungarian Swimming Association. 16 November 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
39. "Szerencsejáték Zrt. Rövidpályás OB 2022. Abszolút Eredmény: 200 m férfi gyors" (in Hungarian). Hungarian Swimming Association. 18 November 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
40. Kovács, Erika (16 March 2023). "Nyílt vízi úszás: Betlehem Dávid és Fábián Bettina nyerte az 5 km-t az eilati Ek-n" (in Hungarian). Nemzeti Sport. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
41. "Milák országos bajnok 100 méter gyorson, Rasovszky és Betlehem is olimpiai A szintes 1500 méter gyorson" (in Hungarian). M4 Sport. 19 April 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
42. "CXXV. Országos Bajnokság: ABSZOLÚT EREDMÉNY 800 m férfi gyors" (in Hungarian). Hungarian Swimming Association. 22 April 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
43. "Öt olimpiai A szintes idő született a magyar úszóbajnokság zárásán" (in Hungarian). Index. 22 April 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
44. "Coppa del Mondo: doppietta Manzi-Guidi a Setubal, Bridi sul podio femminile" (in Italian). Italian National Olympic Committee. 27 May 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
45. Albuquerque, Nuno (28 May 2023). "Caroline Jouisse e Andrea Manzi vencem Taça do Mundo em Setúbal" (in Portuguese). swimchannel.net. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
46. "CXXV. Országos Bajnokság: ABSZOLÚT EREDMÉNY 4x100 m férfi gyorsváltó" (in Hungarian). Hungarian Swimming Association. 21 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
47. "CXXV. Országos Bajnokság: ABSZOLÚT EREDMÉNY 200 m férfi gyors" (in Hungarian). Hungarian Swimming Association. 21 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
48. "CXXV. Országos Bajnokság: ABSZOLÚT EREDMÉNY 400 m férfi gyors" (in Hungarian). Hungarian Swimming Association. 20 April 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
49. "Men's 1500m Freestyle Heats Results" (PDF). olympics.com. 3 August 2024. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
50. "David Betlehem: Medals". FINA. Retrieved 23 July 2022.

External links

• Dávid Betlehem at World Aquatics
• Dávid Betlehem at SwimRankings.net