Balázs Gercsák (born 14 October 1986) is a Hungarian swimmer, who specialized in freestyle events. Gercsak is a former member of the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...

, and a graduate of digital media productions at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in Gainesville, Florida. He is also the brother of open water swimmer Csaba Gercsák, who won the bronze medal in the 25 km marathon at the 2011 FINA World Championships in

Shanghai, China Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

. Gercsak made his first Hungarian team at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, where he competed in the men's 4 × 200 m freestyle relay, along with his teammates Balázs Makány,

Tamás Szűcs Tamás Szűcs (born February 18, 1981) is a Hungarian former swimmer, who specialized in freestyle events. He is a two-time SEC titleholder in the 50 and 200 m freestyle, and a former member of the swimming team for the South Carolina Gamecocks ...

, and four-time Olympian

Tamás Kerékjártó Tamás Kerékjártó (born 9 July 1979 in Miskolc) is a Hungary, Hungarian swimmer. He represented his home country at the Hungary at the 1996 Summer Olympics, 1996, Hungary at the 2004 Summer Olympics, 2004 and Hungary at the 2008 Summer Olympi ...

. Swimming the second leg in heat two, Gercsak recorded a split of 1:54.03, but the Hungarians rounded out the field to last place and sixteenth overall with a final time of 7:31.78. At the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, Gercsak competed as an individual swimmer in the men's 400 m freestyle. Leading up to his second Games, he posted a lifetime best and FINA B-standard entry time of 3:52.21 at the Hungarian National Trials in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. He challenged six other swimmers on the second heat, including Greece's

Spyridon Gianniotis Spyridon "Spyros" Gianniotis (; born 19 February 1980) is a Greek competitive swimmer who specialises in long-distance and open-water freestyle events. He is an Olympic silver medalist, two-time World Champion, World Cup gold medalist, and two ...

, Switzerland's

Dominik Meichtry Dominik Meichtry (born November 18, 1984) is a Swiss competitive swimmer specializing in the middle distance freestyle events. He currently holds six Swiss national records (long course and short course). Meichtry has won 31 individual Swiss ...

, and South Africa's

Jean Basson Jean Basson (born 5 October 1987) is an Olympic swimmer from South Africa. At the 2008 Olympic Games, Basson placed fourth in the 200-metre freestyle final with a time of 1:45.97.

. Gercsak finished his heat in sixth place by more than a second behind Basson with a time of 3:54.14. Gercsak, however, failed to advance into the final, as he placed thirty-second overall in the preliminary heats.

References

External links

Player Bio – Florida Gators
* 1986 births Living people Olympic swimmers for Hungary Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Hungarian male freestyle swimmers Swimmers from Budapest Florida Gators men's swimmers Hungarian expatriate swimmers in the United States {{Hungary-swimming-bio-stub