Zoltán Halmay
Swimmer
Died when: 74 years 337 days (899 months)Star Sign: Gemini
Zoltán Imre Ödön Halmay de Erdotelek (Hungarian pronunciation: ['zolta?n 'h?lm?i]; 18 June 1881, Magasfalu – 20 May 1956, Budapest) was a Hungarian Olympic swimmer.
He competed in four Olympics (1900 – 1908), winning the following medals:
* 1900: silver (200 m, 4000 m freestyle), bronze (1000 m freestyle)
* 1904: gold (50yd, 100yd freestyle)
* 1906: gold (4×250 m freestyle relay), silver (100 m freestyle) (these games are now not officially recognized by the IOC)
* 1908: silver (100 m freestyle; 4 × 200 m freestyle relay) Zoltán Halmay, who was a two-time Olympic champion, was the most successful sportsman in freestyle swimming.
In 1904 he won the 50 and 100 yards at the St.Louis Games and in 1906 he was a member of the 4×250 m relay team that won the gold medal at the Intercalated Games.
He won a further 4 silver medals and a bronze medal at other Olympics.He was Hungarian champion 14 times and won the English, the German and the Austrian Championships as well.
He was a world record holder at 100 metres and also at 50 and 220 yards.His versatility is shown by the fact that he was also a remarkable athlete, rower and football player, and he also won a national-level championship in roller-skating over 5000 metres.
After his retirement, he worked as a trainer, and he was the federal chief trainer of the Hungarian Swimming Association.
At the ceremony organised at the main square of the village, a monument unifying the memorial plaque and the statue of Halmay was set up in collaboration with the Slovak Olympic Committee and the local government of Vysoká pri Morave (Magasfalu).
