Norbert Kovács (born 13 February 1988 in

Veszprém Veszprém (; , , , ) is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights. It lies approximately north of the Lake Balaton. It is the administrative center of the county of the same name. Etymology The city's name derives ...

) is a Hungarian swimmer, who specialized in freestyle and butterfly events. He represented his nation

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 ...

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 ...

, and has won a bronze medal in the 200 m butterfly at the

2006 European Junior Swimming Championships The 2006 European Junior Swimming Championships were held from July 6 to July 9, 2006, in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. The age groups for this event were girls born in 1990 or 1991 and boys born in 1988 or 1989. Medal table Medal summary Boy's eve ...

Palma de Mallorca, Spain Palma (, ; ), also known as Palma de Mallorca (officially between 1983 and 1988, 2006–2008, and 2012–2016), is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is ...

with a time of 2:00.20. Kovacs is a member of the swimming team for Kőbánya Sport Club 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 ...

, under the tutelage of head coach Zsigmond Gyenge. Kovacs competed for

in two swimming events at the

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 ...

. Leading up to the Games, he finished with a second-place time in 1:49.91 (200 m freestyle) to dip beneath the FINA B-cut (1:52.53) at the Hungarian National Championships in

. In the 200 m freestyle, Kovacs threw down a lifetime tech-suit best in 1:49.34 to race his way into third in heat four, but failed to advance further to the semifinals, finishing thirty-fifth overall in the prelims. Kovacs also competed as a member of the Hungarian team in the men's 4 × 200 m freestyle relay, along with fellow swimmers

Dominik Kozma Dominik Kozma (born 10 April 1991) is a Hungarian swimmer. He is the son of István Kozma (footballer), István Kozma, a professional footballer, who played for Dunfermline Athletic from 1989 to 1992. Career 2008 Olympics Kozma made his Ol ...

, Tamás Kerékjártó, and

Gergő Kis Gergő Szabolcs Kis (born 19 January 1988 in Tapolca) is a Hungarian freestyle swimmer. Kis participated in the 2004 Summer Olympics in the men's 1500 m freestyle, ranking 23rd in the heats. In the 2006 European Junior Swimming Champion ...

. Swimming the anchor leg in heat two, Kovacs recorded a split of 1:48.40, and the Hungarian team went on to finish the race in sixth place and thirteenth overall with a total time of 7:14.14. Kovacs is previously a varsity swimmer for the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...

at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

, before he transferred to the

University of Tampa The University of Tampa (UTampa, UT or Tampa U) is a private university in Tampa, Florida. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UTampa offers more than 200 programs of study, including 19 master's degrees and a br ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, where he took up a major in finance and assigned as a senior captain for the Tampa Spartans swimming and diving team.

References

External links

Player Bio – UT Spartans
1988 births Living people Olympic swimmers for Hungary Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Hungarian male freestyle swimmers Sportspeople from Veszprém Tennessee Volunteers men's swimmers Hungarian expatriate swimmers in the United States 21st-century Hungarian sportsmen {{Hungary-swimming-bio-stub