Éva Székely

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

Éva Székely

Éva Székely in 1956
Personal information
Born	(1927-04-03) 3 April 1927 Budapest, Hungary
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Club	Neményi MADISZ BVSC, Budapest
Medal record Representing Hungary Olympic Games 1952 Helsinki 200 m breaststroke 1956 Melbourne 200 m breaststroke European Championships 1947 Monte Carlo 200 m breaststroke

Éva Székely (born 3 April 1927) is a Hungarian swimmer. She won the gold medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki and the silver medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics. She held the first world record in the 400 m individual medley in 1953.

Earlier in 1941 Székely set a national speed record, although she was barely allowed to start because she was a Jew. She was excluded from competition for the next four years, and survived the Holocaust partly because she was a famous swimmer.

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 multiple Olympic champion in water polo.

After retiring from competitions Székely worked as a pharmacist and swimming coach, training her daughter among others. In 1976 she was inducted to the International Swimming Hall of Fame. She 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