During a ceremony last week in Százhalombatta, 5 new members were inducted into the Hungarian Swimming Hall of Fame.
The class, which is the 6th since the Hall of Fame was first launched in 2013, included swimmers and coaches both modern and historic. The group also included 1 member of the media, as has every class in the hall’s history aside from the inaugural class in 2013.
2018 Inductees
- Valéria Gyenge
- Dora Pásztory
- Éva Risztov
- Csaba Sós
- Jenő Knézy (media)
Bios of 2018 Inductees
- Valéria Gyenge headlines the class. The 85-year old won the 400 free at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki when she was 19-years old. After the 1956 Olympics, she and her fiancé (and eventual husband) János Garai, son of the 1928 Olympic fencing champion of the same name, moved to Toronto where she swam and coached before becoming a photographer.
- Dora Pásztory won back-to-back Paralympic gold medals in the 200 IM at the 2000 and 2004 Games. She also won 3 other minor medals (bronze in the 100 fly in 2000, silver in the 100 fly in 2004, silver in the 100 back in 2004) making her career total 5. Since retiring from swimming, she’s spent time as a coach, a Eurosport commentator, and a journalist.
- Éva Risztov announced her retirement in February of 2017 after winning an Olympic gold medal in the 10km marathon swim at the 2012 Olympic Games – where she also swam in the pool.At the 2003 long course World Championships in Barcelona, she took silver in the 400 free, 200 fly, and 400 IM. She also has 15 European Championships medals in the pool (6 of which were gold), and one European open water medal – a silver in the 10k from the 2014 Berlin championships. She has been named the Hungarian Swimmer of the Year 3 times (2002, 2003, 2012); won the Alfred Hajos award in 2012; and was named the 2012 Hungarian Sportswoman of the Year by a vote of national sports journalists. She finished 13th in the 10km swim at the 2016 Olympic Games.
- Csaba Sós won a bronze medal in the 400 IM at the 1977 European Championships. He raced at the 1972, 1976, and 1980 Olympic games, but never reached a final. In 2017, he was named the head coach of the Hungarian National Swimming Team.
- Jenő Knézy (media) was a famous Hungarian sports broadcaster who commented on both winter and summer Olympic Games from 1972 through 2000, covered hockey, swimming, Formula One, and 3 soccer world cup finals (1990, 1998, 2002). He died in 2003 from cancer, and the honor was accepted by his son (of the same name) who is also a famous national broadcaster.