The Hungarian Swimming Association (MUSZ) has elected its newest President, with Dr. Sándor Wladár now taking the reins. The 54-year-old Olympic medalist replaces Gusztáv Bienerth, who was in the role since just January of this year.
Wladár is the 3rd MUSZ President over just the past year, as the organization has suffered from growing discontent within the Hungarian swimming world. Tamás Gyárfás was previously in the President role, but resigned in November 2016. The resignation of Gyárfás came as a final move in response to facing highly publicized criticism by the nation’s top swimmers, including Katinka Hosszu and Daniel Gyurta.
Hosszu was the most vocal critic of training conditions and overall support given by the Hungarian Swimming Federation in most recent years. She had primarily cited the association’s failing to provide enough resources to its swimmers, expressing that “while the Hungarian Swimming Federation expects world-class performances, the support they provide is far from world-class level.”
Upon his being elected after having been the sole candidate, Wladár stated, “Everyone starts to work with a clean sheet, and we need a lot of work, and also a lot of humility.” He also announced 4-time Olympic champion Tamás Darnyi will serve has his Presidential advisor.
Hopefully this will continue the trend of swimmers’ voices being heard everywhere. Does anyone know much about Darnyi’s status or potential contribution as advisor? He was obviously a superior swimmer in his day.