József Katona (12 September 1941 – 26 December 2016)József Katona's obituary
was a

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...

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 ...

from

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, who competed in two consecutive

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

for his native country, starting in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

. Katona was born in Eger, Heves, Hungary. As a 17-year-old, Katona represented his country at the

1958 European Aquatics Championships The 1958 LEN European Aquatics Championships took place in Budapest, Hungary from 31 August until 6 September. In swimming, the 4 × 100 m medley relays for men and women were introduced. Medal table Medal summary Diving ;Men's events ;Wome ...

which were held 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 ...

. In the 1500 metres he came second behind Ian Black to win the silver medal, and also won a team bronze medal in the 4 x 200 metres freestyle relay. Four years later in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

at the

1962 European Aquatics Championships The 1962 European Aquatics Championships were held in Leipzig, East Germany from 18 to 25 August 1962. Titles were contested in swimming, diving and water polo (men). In the men's swimming program, the 100 m backstroke had been replaced by the 200 ...

, Katona returned home with a gold medal in the 1500 metres freestyle. At the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Katona reached the final of the 1500 metre freestyle where he finished in 5th place, but in the 400 metre freestyle and

4 × 200 metre freestyle relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

he failed to qualify from the first round heats. Four years later at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...

it was the same pattern, he failed to reach the finals in the 400 metre freestyle or the

, but in the 1500 metre freestyle he managed to finish eighth in the final. Katona was also a national

water polo Water polo is a 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 ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

player and was capped 17 times. He would later become a physical education teacher and eventually was the president of the Egri Swimming Club.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Katona, Jozsef 1941 births 2016 deaths Olympic swimmers for Hungary Hungarian male freestyle swimmers Swimmers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Eger European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming European champions for Hungary Universiade medalists in swimming FISU World University Games bronze medalists for Hungary Medalists at the 1965 Summer Universiade