Tamás Darnyi

The native form of this personal name is Darnyi Tamás. This article uses the Western name order.

Tamás Darnyi

Personal information
Full name	Darnyi Tamás
Nationality	Hungary
Born	(1967-06-03) 3 June 1967 Budapest
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Individual medley
Club	Újpesti Dózsa Sportegyesület
Medal record Men's swimming Representing Hungary Olympic Games 1988 Seoul 200 m medley 1988 Seoul 400 m medley 1992 Barcelona 200 m medley 1992 Barcelona 400 m medley World Championships (LC) 1986 Madrid 200 m medley 1986 Madrid 400 m medley 1991 Perth 200 m medley 1991 Perth 400 m medley 1991 Perth 200 m butterfly European Championships (LC) 1985 Sofia 200 m medley 1985 Sofia 400 m medley 1987 Strasbourg 200 m medley 1987 Strasbourg 400 m medley 1989 Bonn 200 m butterfly 1989 Bonn 200 m medley 1989 Bonn 400 m medley 1993 Sheffield 400 m medley European Junior Championships (LC) 1982 Innsbruck 200 m butterfly 1982 Innsbruck 200 m medley 1982 Innsbruck 400 m medley 1982 Innsbruck 200 m backstroke 1982 Innsbruck 100 m butterfly

Tamás Darnyi (born 3 June 1967 in Budapest) is a Hungarian retired male swimmer. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest medley swimmers in history. He won four gold medals at two Olympic Games (1988 and 1992) and was unbeaten in the individual medley events from 1985 until his retirement in 1993. He is the first swimmer ever to swim the 200 m medley (long course) in less than 2 minutes.

Career

Possibly one of the greatest medley swimmers of all time, Tamás Darnyi dominated his speciality between 1985 and 1993. He won the 200/400 m medley double at the 1988 and 1992 Olympics, the 1986 and 1991 World Championships, and the 1985, 1987 and 1989 European Championships. He also won a European title in the 200 m butterfly, and a world bronze in the same event.

A teen talent, Darnyi might have competed at the 1984 Olympics, but both the Eastern European boycott and a personal accident prevented this. He was hit by a snowball in the left eye, which left him blind in one eye. After recovering, he started an unbeaten streak in medley events that lasted from 1985 to 1993. During that period, he bettered the world record in both medley events three times. After his final European title in 1993 (400 medley), he retired and managed a Budapest sports school.

He was named Male World Swimmer of the Year in 1987 and 1991 by Swimming World magazine. He was elected Hungarian Sportsman of the Year in 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990 and 1992 for his achievements.

See also

• World record progression 200 metres medley
• World record progression 400 metres medley
• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists

Records
Preceded by Alex Baumann	Men's 200 metre individual medley world record holder (long course) 23 August 1987 – 20 August 1989	Succeeded by David Wharton
Preceded by David Wharton	Men's 200 metre individual medley world record holder (long course) 13 January 1991 – 11 September 1994	Succeeded by Jani Sievinen
Preceded by David Wharton	Men's 400 metre individual medley world record holder (long course) 19 August 1987 – 11 September 1994	Succeeded by Tom Dolan
Awards
Preceded by Matt Biondi	World Swimmer of the Year 1987	Succeeded by Matt Biondi
Preceded by Mike Barrowman	World Swimmer of the Year 1991	Succeeded by Yevgeny Sadovyi
Preceded by Attila Mizsér	Hungarian Sportsman of The Year 1986-1988	Succeeded by László Fábián
Preceded by László Fábián	Hungarian Sportsman of The Year 1990	Succeeded by István Kovács
Preceded by István Kovács	Hungarian Sportsman of The Year 1992	Succeeded by Antal Kovács
Preceded by Michael Groß	European Swimmer of the Year 1987 – 1988	Succeeded by Giorgio Lamberti
Preceded by Adrian Moorhouse	European Swimmer of the Year 1991	Succeeded by Yevgeny Sadovyi

External links

• Tamas Darnyi (in Hungarian)
• Sport-reference.com (in English)