The Most Famous

SWIMMERS from Hungary

This page contains a list of the greatest Hungarian Swimmers. The pantheon dataset contains 709 Swimmers, 27 of which were born in Hungary. This makes Hungary the birth place of the 6th most number of Swimmers behind Russia, and Japan.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Hungarian Swimmers of all time. This list of famous Hungarian Swimmers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Hungarian Swimmers.

1. Johnny Weissmuller (1904 - 1984)

With an HPI of 69.12, Johnny Weissmuller is the most famous Hungarian Swimmer. His biography has been translated into 65 different languages on wikipedia.

Johnny Weissmuller ( WYSSE-mul-ər; born Johann Peter Weißmüller, German: [ˈjoːhan ˈpeːtɐ ˈvaɪsmʏlɐ]; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was an American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive-swimming records of the 20th century. He set world records alongside winning five gold medals in the Olympics. He won the 100m freestyle and the 4 × 200 m relay team event in the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris and the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. Weissmuller also won gold in the 400m freestyle, as well as a bronze medal in the water polo competition in Paris. Following his retirement from swimming, Weissmuller played Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan in twelve feature films from 1932 to 1948; six were produced by MGM, and six additional films by RKO. Weissmuller went on to star in sixteen Jungle Jim movies over an eight-year period, then filmed 26 additional half-hour episodes of the Jungle Jim TV series.

2. Alfréd Hajós (1878 - 1955)

With an HPI of 57.05, Alfréd Hajós is the 2nd most famous Hungarian Swimmer. His biography has been translated into 35 different languages.

Alfréd Hajós (1 February 1878 – 12 November 1955) was a Hungarian swimmer, football (soccer) player, referee, manager, and career architect. He was the first modern Olympic swimming champion and the first Olympic champion of Hungary. Formerly excelling in track including discus and hurdles, he was part of the first National European football/soccer team fielded by Hungary in 1902, later serving as a referee as well as the manager and coach of the national football team.

3. Katalin Szőke (1935 - 2017)

With an HPI of 49.80, Katalin Szőke is the 3rd most famous Hungarian Swimmer. Her biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Katalin Szőke (17 August 1935 – 27 October 2017) was a Hungarian swimmer. She competed at the 1952 Olympics and won two gold medals, in the 100 m and 4 × 100 m freestyle events. Two years later she repeated that success at the 1954 European Championships. She also competed in these two events at the 1956 Olympics but without success. During her career Szőke set four world records. In 1985 she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

4. Ilona Novák (1925 - 2019)

With an HPI of 49.49, Ilona Novák is the 4th most famous Hungarian Swimmer. Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Ilona Novák (16 May 1925 – 14 March 2019) was a Hungarian swimmer and Olympic champion. She competed at the 1948 Olympic Games in London, where she finished 4th in 100 m backstroke and 5th in 4 × 100 m freestyle relay. At the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki she received a gold medal in 4 × 100 m freestyle relay as captain of the Hungarian team. She was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 1973, together with her sister, Éva Novák.

5. István Bárány (1907 - 1995)

With an HPI of 49.34, István Bárány is the 5th most famous Hungarian Swimmer. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

István Bárány (20 December 1907 – 21 February 1995) was a Hungarian swimmer who competed at the 1924, 1928 and 1932 Summer Olympics. In 1924 he was twelfth in the 100 m freestyle. Four years later he won a silver medal in 100 m freestyle and was fourth in the 4×200 m freestyle relay. In 1932, he won a bronze medal in the 4×200 m freestyle relay and was eliminated in a semifinal of 100 m freestyle. Between 1926 and 1931 Bárány won four European titles. In 1929 he became the second person, after Johnny Weissmuller, to swim 100 m within a minute. Bárány held a PhD in law and political science. From 1957 to 1959 he served as the general secretary of the Hungarian Swimming Association. He was also a national coach and an international referee and wrote more than 30 books on swimming. In 1978 he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

6. Ferenc Csik (1913 - 1945)

With an HPI of 48.79, Ferenc Csik is the 6th most famous Hungarian Swimmer. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Ferenc Csik (12 December 1913 – 29 March 1945) was a Hungarian swimmer who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics. In the 1936, Olympics he won a gold medal in the 100 m freestyle event and a bronze medal in the 4×200 m freestyle relay event. Csik went on to become a medical doctor, and died during World War II in an air raid while assisting a wounded man.

7. Éva Novák-Gerard (1930 - 2005)

With an HPI of 48.57, Éva Novák-Gerard is the 7th most famous Hungarian Swimmer. Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Éva Novák (8 January 1930 – 30 June 2005), also known as Éva Novák-Gérard, was a swimmer from Hungary. She won three medals at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, after a bronze four years earlier in London. She was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 1973, together with her sister, Ilona Novák.

8. Judit Temes (1930 - 2013)

With an HPI of 48.52, Judit Temes is the 8th most famous Hungarian Swimmer. Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Judit Temes (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈjudit ˈtɛmɛʃ]; 10 October 1930 – 11 August 2013) was a Hungarian swimmer and Olympic champion. Temes, who was Jewish, was born in Sopron. She competed at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, where she received a bronze medal in 100 m freestyle, and a gold medal in 4 × 100 m freestyle relay. After retirement she pursued a medical career and earned her medical degree in 1955 from the Budapest University of Medicine. Later on she worked for the university pathology department and cancer research institute and then headed the St. Elizabeth Hospital Department of Pathology.

9. Imre Zachár (1890 - 1954)

With an HPI of 46.12, Imre Zachár is the 9th most famous Hungarian Swimmer. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Imre Zachár (11 May 1890 – 7 April 1954) was a Hungarian water polo player and freestyle swimmer who competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics and 1912 Summer Olympics.

10. Géza Kádas (1926 - 1979)

With an HPI of 45.83, Géza Kádas is the 10th most famous Hungarian Swimmer. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Géza Kádas (1926–1979) was a Hungarian swimmer and Olympic medalist. He participated at the 1948 and 1952 Summer Olympics, winning a silver medal in 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay, and a bronze medal in 100 metre freestyle in 1948.

People

Pantheon has 54 people classified as Hungarian swimmers born between 1878 and 2005. Of these 54, 40 (74.07%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Hungarian swimmers include Valéria Gyenge, Krisztina Egerszegi, and László Cseh. The most famous deceased Hungarian swimmers include Johnny Weissmuller, Alfréd Hajós, and Katalin Szőke. As of April 2024, 26 new Hungarian swimmers have been added to Pantheon including Éva Novák-Gerard, Elemér Szathmáry, and György Mitró.