Éva Székely

The native form of this personal name is Székely Éva. This article uses the Western name order.

Medal record
Competitor for Hungary
Women's Swimming
Olympic Games
Gold	1952 Helsinki	200 m breaststroke
Silver	1956 Melbourne	200 m breaststroke
European Championships (LC)
Silver	1947 Monte Carlo	200 m breaststroke

Éva Székely (born on April 3, 1927 in Budapest) is a Hungarian Jewish female swimmer. She won the gold medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki and the silver medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics. She was a Hungarian swim champion and set a national speed record in 1941, despite almost not being permitted to start, because she was a Jew.. She was excluded from competition for the next four years. She survived the Holocaust in part because she was so well known.

Her daughter, Andrea Gyarmati was a backstroke and butterfly swimmer who won two medals at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. Her former husband Dezső Gyarmati is a champion in water polo.

Achievements

• Olympic Games
  • Gold medal in 1952 (100 m breaststroke)
  • Silver medal in 1956 (100 m breaststroke)
• European championships
  • Silver medal in 1947 (200 m breaststroke)

• International Swimming Hall of Fame
  • Inducted in 1976 [1]

She worked as a pharmacist after retiring, although she continued as a trainer as well, training her daughter and others. She also wrote three books, one of which was translated to other languages.

• Only winners are allowed to cry! (Sírni csak a győztesnek szabad!) Budapest, 1981, Magvető Kiadó
• I came, I saw, I lost? (Jöttem, láttam… Vesztettem?) Budapest, 1986, Magvető Kiadó
• I Swam It/I Survived (Megúsztam) Budapest, 1989, Sport Kiadó

See also

• List of select Jewish swimmers