Dániel Gyurta (; born 4 May 1989) is a Hungarian former competitive swimmer who mainly competed in the 200-metre breaststroke. In 2016, Gyurta became a member of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

(IOC), he is a member of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) Athletes' Commission since 2013 and a member of the Athletes Commission since 2016.

Biography

Gyurta was born in

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 ...

. When he was 15 years old, he won a silver medal (with 2.10.80) in the men's 200-metre breaststroke at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

in Athens, Greece. His coaches are Sándor Széles, Ferenc Kovácshegyi and Balázs Virth. On 12 August 2008 he set an Olympic record in the preliminaries of the 200-metre breaststroke at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. His record was broken one day later by Kitajima in the semi-finals. Gyurta finished fifth in the final. At the

2009 World Aquatics Championships The 2009 World Aquatics Championships () or the XIII FINA World Championships were held in Rome, Italy from 18 July to 2 August 2009. This was the second time the championships were held in the city after being previously hosted in 1994 World Aq ...

he won gold medal in 200 m breaststroke, edging out Eric Shanteau in the last meters. He was named Hungarian Sportsman of the year for this achievement. Two years later Gyurta retained the gold medal at the

2011 World Aquatics Championships The 14th FINA World Aquatics Championships, FINA World Championships () were held on 16–31 July 2011 in Shanghai, Shanghai, China at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center. The 2011 World Championships featured five aquatics disciplines: swimming ...

, thus becoming the second man to defend the world title on 200 metre breaststroke after David Wilkie of Great Britain, who won the first two world titles, in 1973 and 1975. At the 2012 London Olympics he won the gold medal and set a new world record for the 200 m breaststroke. After the race, he offered a replica of his Olympic medal to the parents of his former competitor Alexander Dale Oen in tribute to him, a gesture much appreciated by Dale's family. Dale had died on 30 April 2012, a few months before the Games. Later, Gyurta received the international Fair Play Award from

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

, in respect of his medal tribute of a fallen fellow breaststroker: Alexander Dale Oen. His younger brother, Gergely Gyurta is also a competitive swimmer.

Personal bests

In long course swim pools Gyurta's bests are: * 100 m breaststroke: 59.53 (29 July 2012, London) Hungarian Record * 200 m breaststroke: 2:07.23 (2 August 2013, Barcelona) Championship Record, European Record In short course pools Gyurta's best's are: * 50 m breaststroke: 27.00 (10 December 2009) Hungarian Record * 100 m breaststroke: 56.72 (11 December 2009, Istanbul) Hungarian Record * 200 m breaststroke: 2:00.48 (31 August 2014, Dubai) Former World Record

Awards

* Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary – Knight's Cross (2004) * Hungarian swimmer of the Year (5): 2004, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 * Hungarian Junior Athlete of the Year (2) - the National Sports Association (NSSZ) awards: 2004, 2007 * Junior Príma award (2008) * Hungarian Sportsman of the Year (3) - votes of sports journalists: 2009, 2012, 2013 * Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary – Officer's Cross (2010) * Best Youth Hungarian Athlete of the year (1) - the National Sports Association (NSSZ) awards: 2011 * Best Hungarian Junior Sportman of the Year (Héraklész) (1): 2011 * Order of Merit of Hungary – Commander's Cross (2012) *

Fair Play Award (2013) *

Swimming World Magazine } ''Swimming World'' is a US-based quarterly swimming magazine that was first published in a magazine format as ''Junior Swimmer'' in January 1960. It concurrently runs online websites ''Swimming World Magazine'' and ''Swimming World News'' (kn ...

– European Swimmer of the Year (1): 2013 * Hungarian university athlete of the year (1): 2015 * 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)

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gyurta, Daniel 1989 births Living people Swimmers from Budapest Hungarian male breaststroke swimmers Olympic swimmers for Hungary Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Hungary Olympic silver medalists for Hungary World record setters in swimming World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics European champions for Hungary Olympic gold medalists in swimming Olympic silver medalists in swimming Hungarian International Olympic Committee members 20th-century Hungarian people 21st-century Hungarian sportsmen