Dezso Gyarmati, the most successful water polo player in Olympic history and perhaps the greatest water polo player ever, passed away Sunday. He was 85. Gyarmati is survived by his daughter Andrea, who won silver in the 100m backstroke and bronze in the 100m butterfly in the 1972 Munich Olympics, reports Xinhua.
Gyarmati was a member of Hungary’s water polo team at five different Olympics, winning medals in all. He won gold at the 1952 Helsinki, the 1956 Melbourne and the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, silver at the 1948 Games in London, and bronze at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. He also played on the 1954 and 1962 European champion teams. In 1976 he coached the Hungarian water polo team to victory in the Montreal Olympics.
His team won to silver at the 1972 Munich Olympics and to bronze at the 1980 Moscow Games under his coaching. He also coached his team to gold at the 1980 World Championships and to silver in 1975 and 1978. The Hungarian team also won the European championships in 1974 and 1977 under his leadership.
Gyarmati had a brief political career, serving as a Member of Parliament from 1990 to 1994. Gyarmati was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1976.
