Éva Székely (3 April 1927 – 29 February 2020) was a Hungarian

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

. She won the gold medal at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

and the silver medal at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

, set six world records, and won 44 national titles. She held the first world record in the 400 m individual medley in 1953.

Biography

Székely was born in

Budapest, Hungary Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. Her mother was Orthodox Jewish from Upper Hungary, while her father was from Transylvania. As a child, she competed for a local swim team and in 1941, at 14 years of age, she set a national speed record, although she was barely allowed to start because she was a

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

and was soon expelled from the team because of her religion. She was excluded from competition for the next four years, and survived

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

partly because she was a famous swimmer. Towards the end of World War II, she lived with 41 people in a crowded two-room “safe-house” in Budapest run by the Swiss, and to keep in shape, every day she ran up and down five flights of stairs 100 times. At the end of World War II she met her husband,

Dezső Gyarmati Dezső Gyarmati (23 October 1927 – 18 August 2013) was a Hungarian professional water polo player and three-time Olympic champion; he later became the coach of the Hungarian national water polo team. Widely regarded as a "legendary player", ...

, a three-time Olympic water polo champion (1952, 1956, and 1964) in

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

; they later divorced and he predeceased her in 2013. Their daughter Andrea Gyarmati, born in 1954, was a backstroke and butterfly swimmer who won two medals at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. After the

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 4 November 1956; ), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the policies caused by ...

the family defected to the United States but they did not stay, returning to care for Székely's parents – from then on the Hungarian authorities did not allow them to leave the country in each other's company. Székely won three gold medals at the 1947

World University Games The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a portmanteau of the words "Universi ...

followed by five gold medals at the 1951 World University Championship. She won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

in the 200-meter breaststroke (setting a new Olympic record) at the

, and the

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

at the

. She also set six world records, and won 44 national titles. She held the first world record in the 400 m individual medley, in 1953. After retiring from competitions Székely worked as a pharmacist and swimming coach, training her daughter among others. In 1976 she was inducted into the

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...

. She was named as one of Hungary's Athletes of the Nation in 2004, and received the Prima Primissima award in 2011. She was also inducted into the

International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (IJSHOF) () is the international hall of fame for Jewish athletes and special contributors to the world of sport. The purpose of the IJSHOF is to honor Jewish individuals, worldwide, who have accompli ...

Death

Székely died on 29 February 2020 at

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, at the age of 92.

Publications

She authored three books, one of which was translated into other languages: * ''Only winners are allowed to cry!'' (''Sírni csak a győztesnek szabad!'') Budapest, 1981, Magvető Kiadó * ''I came, I saw, I lost?'' (''Jöttem, láttam… Vesztettem?'') Budapest, 1986, Magvető Kiadó * ''I Swam It/I Survived'' (''Megúsztam'') Budapest, 1989, Sport Kiadó

References

External links

"Éva Székely; Jewish Holocaust Survivor; Interview language: Hungarian (video)"
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Szekely, Eva 1927 births 2020 deaths Hungarian female breaststroke swimmers Jewish swimmers Jewish Hungarian sportspeople Olympic swimmers for Hungary Swimmers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Swimmers from Budapest Olympic silver medalists for Hungary Olympic gold medalists for Hungary World record setters in swimming European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in swimming Olympic silver medalists in swimming Hungarian female swimmers 20th-century Hungarian sportswomen 21st-century Hungarian women Hungarian defectors Hungarian expatriates in the United States Swimming coaches Hungarian sports coaches Székely people

Biography

Death

Publications

See also

References

External links