Hungary's 'Iron Lady' turns to gold

Rio de Janeiro : Hungary's Katinka Hosszu filled a glaring gap in her resume Saturday, making her first Olympic medal a gold -- with a stunning world record to boot.

Hungary's "Iron Lady" shattered the world record in the 400m individual medley, seizing control from the start and winning in 4min 26.36sec.

She eclipsed the previous record of 4:28.43 set by China's Ye Shiwen en route to gold in London four years ago -- where Hosszu was relegated to fourth.

"Coming to Rio, I wanted to do the best I can and I did," said the five-time world champion. "In London, I was under pressure, I was nervous before the final, I was preoccupied by the idea of what would happen if I don't win.

"And I did not want to live through this again here in Rio," added the 27-year-old, who built her confidence up by swimming the second-fastest time ever in the heats.

"I was confident," she said. "Today, I had a great time swimming this 400 IM.

"I know I can go faster, going faster is what brings excitement for me."

At the 300m mark, Hosszu was move than five seconds under world-record pace, and she broke Ye's mark by 2.07sec.

Hosszu was already celebrating when American Maya DiRado finished second in 4:31.15, with Spain's Mireia Belmonte claiming bronze in 4:32.39.

Hosszu will have plenty of chances to expand her collection of Olympic medals in Rio. She's also entered in the 200m medley, the 200m butterfly and the 100m and 200m backstroke.

"I know I have some more races to go and I will have some more fun," she said.