BY: OSABUOHIEN IMUETINYANOSA
Hosszu, the renowned legend and a prolific Hungarian athletic retires. She became a mother of her pretty daughter in 2023, Later in the year, a biographical film entitled “Katinka”, which portrays her life, was released in theaters.
In the summer of 2023 the birth of Hosszú’s daughter, Kamília Layber-Gelencsér was announced via Instagram. She made her Olympic debut as a teenager in Athens in 2004 and went on to compete at the Games in 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2021.
Katinka Hosszú (Hungarian: [ˈkɑtiŋkɑ ˈhossuː]; born 3 May 1989) is a Hungarian competitive swimmer specialized in individual medley events. She is a three-time Olympic champion and a nine-time long-course world champion. She is the owner of a Budapest-based swim school and swim club called Iron Swim Budapest, and a co-owner and captain of Team Iron, founding member of the International Swimming League.
Hosszú is the current world record holder in the 100-meter individual medley and the 200-meter individual medley (long course and short course). She was the first swimmer (male or female) to hold world records in all five individual medley events at the same time. She holds two-thirds of the Hungarian national records. Hosszu was named FINA Swimmer of the Year in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018,[5] and won SwimSwam’s Swammy Award for Female Swimmer of the Year in 2013.
She has competed at five Summer Olympics: 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020. Hosszú currently swims for her own team, Team Iron Swim Budapest. After a long tenure under head coach Shane Tusup, who was her husband, following their divorce Hosszú was coached by Dave Salo before moving onto Árpád Petrov. At the end of 2019 she parted ways with Petrov, and by the following year had hired József Nagy to be her coach.
She is one of the most versatile swimmers in the world, and was nicknamed the “Iron Lady”, which she has since turned into a fast growing international brand.In 2014 she became the first race-prize dollar millionaire (man or woman) in swimming history.
In 2019, Forbes magazine considered her to be the most valuable Hungarian athlete, having ranked in the first position for the previous five years.
After Hungary’s ‘Iron Lady’ Katinka Hosszu has retired from swimming at the age of 35, with the three-times Olympic champion saying she is looking forward to helping young athletes follow their dreams in the sport.
Hosszu competed at five editions of the Games, winning gold in the 200m and 400m individual medley and 100m backstroke, as well as a silver in the 200m backstroke, at Rio in 2016.
“For 30 years, the water has been my home, a sanctuary where I found solace and strength,” she wrote in a post on Instagram on Wednesday. “From the moment I first stepped into the pool as From child, I knew I had discovered something magical.
“In the coming years, I hope to share this passion with others – teaching young swimmers the magic I’ve found in the water and encouraging them to follow their dreams.”
She won nine world championships golds and her 200m medley world record from Kazan in 2015 still stands.
