Danuta Kozák (; born 11 January 1987) is a Hungarian
sprint canoeist. She has won one silver, one bronze and six Olympic gold medals, three of which in
Rio de Janeiro in 2016, making her the first female to win
K1,
K2 and
K4 at the same Olympics (a record equalled in 2024 by Dame Lisa Carrington). At the 2020 Summer Olympics, she won a gold medal in
Women's K-4 500 metres, and bronze medal in
Women's K-2 500 metres.
Career
Kozák has competed since the late 2000s. She won a silver medal in the K-4 500 m event at the
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...
in
Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
. Kozák then won a gold medal at the
London Olympics in the
Kayak Four (K4) 500m team event with
Gabriella Szabó,
Katalin Kovács and
Krisztina Fazekas Zur for
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, 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 and ...
. She also won the gold medal in the
Kayak Single (K1) 500m. She won three gold medals in the
Kayak Single (K1) 500m,
Kayak Pairs (K2) 500m and
Kayak Four (K4) 500m at the
Rio de Janeiro Olympics; a feat compounded with her reeling from a stomach infection one day before the events. The latter results made her the most successful Hungarian sprint canoer and the only female athlete to win K1, K2 and K4 at the same Olympics.
Kozák has also won eighteen medals at the
ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships
The ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships are an international event in canoe racing, one of two top-tier Summer Olympic sport events organized by the International Canoe Federation (the other being the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships). They ...
with fourteen golds (K-1 500 m:
2013
2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years).
2013 was designated as:
*International Year of Water Cooperation
*International Year of Quinoa
Events
January
* January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
,
2014
The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
,
2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
; K-2 200 m:
2011
The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
; K-2 500 m:
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
,
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
,
2015
2015 was designated by the United Nations as:
* International Year of Light
* International Year of Soil __TOC__
Events
January
* January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
,
2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
; K-4 500 m: 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2018 and K-1 200 m relay: 2013), two silvers (K-1 500 m: 2011 and K-4 500 m: 2015) and two bronzes (K-1 500 m:
2019
This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year.
Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
, K-2 1000 m:
2007
2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year.
Events
January
* January 1
**Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
).
Awards
* Junior PrÃma award (2008)
* KSI SE – Athlete of Year (2008)
* Hungarian kayaker of the Year (5): 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016
* Perpetual champion of Hungarian Kayak-Canoe (2011)
* Honorary Citizen of
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 ...
(2012)
* Honorary Citizen of
Újpest
Újpest (; , ) is the 4th District in Budapest, Hungary. It is located on the left bank of the Danube River. The name Újpest means "New Pest" because the city was formed on the border of the city of Pest, Hungary in 1838. Újpest was a village ...
(2016)
;Orders and special awards
*
Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary
The Hungarian Order of Merit () is the fourth highest Order (honour), State Order of Hungary. Founded in 1991, the order is a revival of an original order founded in 1946 and abolished in 1949. Its origins, however, can be traced to the Order of ...
– Knight's Cross (2008)
* Order of Merit of Hungary – Officer's Cross (2012)
* Order of Merit of Hungary – Commander's Cross with Star (2016)
Personal life
Her mother is of Polish descent.
See also
*
List of multiple Olympic gold medalists
This article lists the individuals who have won at least four gold medals at the Olympic Games or at least three gold medals in individual events.
List of most Olympic gold medals over career
This is a partial list of multiple Olympic gold medali ...
References
*
*
*
External links
*
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*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kozak, Danuta
1987 births
Living people
Canoeists from Budapest
Canoeists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Canoeists at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Canoeists at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Canoeists at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Hungarian female canoeists
Hungarian people of Polish descent
Olympic canoeists for Hungary
Olympic gold medalists for Hungary
Olympic silver medalists for Hungary
Olympic bronze medalists for Hungary
Olympic medalists in canoeing
ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in kayak
Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics
European Games medalists in canoeing
European Games gold medalists for Hungary
Canoeists at the 2015 European Games
European Games bronze medalists for Hungary
Canoeists at the 2019 European Games
European Games silver medalists for Hungary
21st-century Hungarian sportswomen