Éva Székely

Born: April 3, 1927, Budapest, Hungary

The would-be Olympic champion swimmer Éva Székely’s talent was discovered in her early childhood. However, starting in 1941 she could not be the official member of any sports club because she was Jewish. During World War II, she lived at a Swedish protected house with her family. In order to keep herself fit, she trained by going up and down the stairs in her building one hundred times every day.

After the war she got back into sports and met her future husband, later five-time Olympic water polo champion, Dezső Gyarmati. Their daughter, Andrea was born in 1954,  and she later became a champion swimmer as well. Between 1946 and 1954, Éva won 32 national and 11 international medals and became an Olympic champion at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics by setting a new olympic record in 200 meter breast stroke. She and her husband participated in the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, which was overshadowed by the news of the Hungarian revolution. However, Éva went on to win a silver medal in 200 meter breast stroke and came 5th in 400 meter free style. She stopped swimming in 1958 and devoted her life to training young talents, including her own daughter. She wrote several books about her life, the most famous of which was Sírni csak a győztesnek szabad! (Only the winner is allowed to cry!) published in 1981. The book was later published in Czech and English as well.