| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Hungarian | ||||||||||||||
| Citizenship | Hungarian, British | ||||||||||||||
| Born | (1924-10-05)5 October 1924 | ||||||||||||||
| Died | 27 October 2013(2013-10-27) (aged 89) | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.66 m (5 ft 5 in) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 57 kg (126 lb) | ||||||||||||||
Spouse(s) | István Várkonyi Tamás Aczél | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Country | Hungary | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||
| Club | Debreceni TE (1941–44) Vasas SC (1947–1956) | ||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||
| Personalbest(s) | 60 m – 7.8 sec (1950)[1] 80 m hurdles – 11.1 sec (1953)[1] 100 m – 11.9 sec (1951)[2] 200 m – 24.8 sec (1951)[2] High jump – 160 cm (1950)[2] Long jump – 623 cm (1953)[2] Shot put – 11.12 m (1952)[1] Women's pentathlon – 4160 pts (1955)[1] | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| Updated on 24 September 2014 | |||||||||||||||
Olga Gyarmati (Hungarian pronunciation:[ˈolɡɒˈɟɒrmɒti]; 5 October 1924 – 27 October 2013)[2] was aHungarian all-roundtrack and field athlete who competed at threeOlympic Games in four different events. Her greatest success was winning the inaugural Olympic Women's Long Jump competition in London in 1948. Additionally, she won two Universiade gold medals and a number ofHungarian Athletics Championships titles in sprint and jumping events.
Gyarmati was born inDebrecen and began athletics in local clubDebreceni TE. She won her firstHungarian Athletics Championships title in 1941, at the age of 17, in the 100-metre dash.[3] Shortly after, in the final years ofWorld War II, athletics suffered a setback in Hungary as virtually no competitive events were held in the country; in this period Gyarmati moved toBudapest and married to István Várkonyi.[4]
Gyarmati returned to competitive sport in 1947, continuing her career inVasas SC.[4] Until 1956 Gyarmati won a total of 31 individual national titles inHungary, including three in 100-metre dash (1941, 1949, 1951), two in 200 metre-dash (1951, 1952), seven in the 80-metre hurdles (1948, 1949, 1951–1955), two in the high jump (1942, 1949), eight in the long jump (1948, 1949, 1951–56), and two in the pentathlon (1950, 1955). In addition, she won three team titles, one each in the high jump, long jump, and shot put.[2]
Gyarmati earned her biggest success at the1948 Summer Olympics, winning the gold medal in thelong jump, thus becoming the second Hungarian female Olympic champion in athletics afterIbolya Csák. Gyarmati qualified for the event – the first ever Olympic long jump competition for women – with a result of 599 cm, just 26 cm short to the world record, being one of the main gold medal contenders.[3] She eventually achieved 569.5 cm on her third attempt, setting a new Olympic record and winning the gold medal. In thehigh jump Gyarmati finished 17th.[2]
In the following years Gyarmati achieved further successes at the Universiade, winning the gold medal of the long jump event in 1949 and the 200 metres in 1951. Additionally, she won another four silvers and two bronzes in these championships.[2]
Gyarmati's next major event was the1952 Summer Olympics inHelsinki, however, she competed with limited success. In the long jump she came tenth, while in the 200-metre dash and the 4 × 100 metres relay she was eliminated during the heats.[2]
At the1956 Summer Olympics Gyarmati competed only in the long jump, finishing 11th. The Games, however, were overshadowed by theHungarian Revolution of 1956 and the subsequent Soviet invasion of Hungary, that led to many of theHungarian Olympic Team members to defect and not to return to Hungary. Gyarmati was among the defectors as well; she emigrated to England and became a British citizen. While in England, Gyarmati married to Hungarian writerTamás Aczél, a fellow Hungarian emigrant. Later they settled in the United States.[2][4]
Gyarmati lived her final years as a recluse; she did not keep the touch with the Hungarian Olympic Committee and she did not even demand the annuity given for Olympic champions.[5] She died on 27 October 2013 inGreenfield, Massachusetts.[2]
1952 Summer Olympics,Helsinki:
1956 Summer Olympics,Melbourne:
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