Remembering Water Polo Legend Tibor Benedek, Who Passed Away Five Years Ago

One of the world’s best left-handed water polo players, the three-time Olympic, world and European champion’s entire career was characterized by the fact that nothing was impossible for him; whatever he set his mind to, he achieved.

He was not particularly strong, he was not a very good swimmer, his buoyancy was completely average, and he would have preferred to avoid the swimming pool altogether. He was not particularly proud of his high school results, he was exempted from military service due to a spinal hernia, he was unable to put weight on his hands, thus he played with a wrist brace throughout his career.

He never felt that his words could influence others, that he could motivate his teammates and those around him. Yet he became a role model.

The best water polo player of the 21st century, Tibor Benedek, was born almost fifty-three years ago, on July 12, 1972. His parents took him swimming on medical advice because he developed a herniated disc at the age of eight, but at first he was not really comfortable with the pool. However, the sultry atmosphere of the Komjádi Swimming Pool in Budapest slowly captivated him. After a while, if you looked through the window of Komjádi on Sunday afternoons, you could see a persistent young man alone in the water.

He also started playing water polo because of the swimming pool environment, where he spent almost all his childhood summers, while thinking about what it would be like to be an Olympic champion. From a professional athlete’s point of view, Komjádi was a very important place, as Olympic champions had trained in its pool, and Tibor Benedek eventually followed in their footsteps.

In January 1990, national team coach János Konrád invited the then 18-year-old boy to join the senior water polo team for the first time. He won three bronze medals in a row with the national team: in the summer at the Goodwill Games in Seattle and the Nations Cup, then in January 1991 at the World Championships in Perth.

In 1992, he was already there with the national team at the Barcelona Olympics. Although the team only finished sixth, Benedek scored 22 goals in seven games, making the then 20-year-old player the most successful in the Hungarian national team. It was at these Olympics that experts really took notice of him.

Two years later, however, he was able to taste success with his team. On May 1, 1994, a huge crowd dressed in purple and white awaited the new Super Cup winners at Ferihegy Airport. Benedek, then a member of the Újpest water polo team, played a major role in defeating Pescara and winning the Super Cup. This trophy brought him national recognition.

At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the Hungarian national team, led by Benedek, advanced to the semifinals, but suffered a 7-6 defeat to Spain. Benedek was once again the best Hungarian player, scoring 19 goals in eight games, but this was little consolation: after the match, he was so devastated that assistant coach György Gerendás had to keep him company at the edge of the pool.

In August 1999, as the newly crowned Italian champion swimming for Rome, he was banned for eight months by the swimming association because he tested positive in a doping test during the championship semifinals. According to Benedek, the small amount of clostebol found in his blood may have entered his system through an ointment used to treat a fungal infection. His suspension expired on April 28, 2000, allowing him to return to the national team.

Perhaps it was fate, because a few months later he won a gold medal with the national team at the Sydney Olympics.

He scored four goals in the 13-6 victory over Russia in the final. Hungary thus won Olympic gold again, 24 years after the Montreal Olympics.

On October 14, President Ferenc Mádl awarded Benedek the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary.

Preparations for the 2001 European Championships, hosted by Hungary, were in full swing. The Hajós Alfréd Swimming Complex and the sports hotel had been completely renovated, and temporary stands had been erected around the 50-meter pool. Ten days before the start of the competition, the Hungarian water polo team was already training in the 50-meter pool. Everything was in place for a successful event.

In 2008, Benedek won his third Olympic gold medal in Beijing. The then 36-year-old athlete scored 10 goals in his fifth Olympics, with only Péter Biros scoring more. The Hungarian team beat the United States 14-10 in the final.

Thousands of fans, relatives, and friends awaited the returning gold medalists from Beijing at the SYMA Hall in the morning. At the victory celebration, Tibor was the first to be embraced by his father, actor Miklós Benedek. Later that year, he was made an honorary citizen of Budapest.

 

A bejegyzés megtekintése az Instagramon

 

Tibor Benedek Memorial Page (@tiborbenedek_the.legend) által megosztott bejegyzés

Three years later, at the World Championships in Shanghai, he was already assistant coach alongside national team coach Dénes Kemény, and in the same line-up at the 2012 London Olympics, the fight went on until the very end, but the fourth gold medal did not materialize, with the national team finishing in fifth place. The master and his student helped each other for two years, but in the end, Kemény did not renew his expiring contract, so from January 10, 2013,

Benedek took over the coaching position.

He did not have to wait long for his first success, leading his team to victory at the 2013 Men’s Water Polo World Championships in Barcelona.

After winning the final against Montenegro 8-7, he had no choice but to celebrate in the pool. That year, he was voted best national team coach. He received the award from his predecessor, Dénes Kemény, president of the Hungarian Water Polo Association.

However, after initial successes, medal results eluded them. Under his leadership, the team won a silver medal in front of a home crowd at the 2014 European Championships, but a year later at the World Championships, they only managed sixth place, and at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the national team finished in fifth place.

No matter how well Benedek motivated and kept the team together, he felt that his time was up.

On October 20, 2016, he announced that he would be stepping down as head coach of the national team at the end of the year. He was then elected to the board of the Hungarian Water Polo Association and later worked as technical director and coach of UVSE.

In 2017, at the Millennium–St. Petersburg match at the Hajós Alfréd National Sports Swimming Pool, he still showed off his skills in the over-40s final. The Hungarian men’s water polo team, made up of Olympic champions, won 16-3, and Benedek celebrated in the pool once again.

Everyone in the water polo community knew about Benedek’s serious illness, but no one talked about it. They secretly hoped for his recovery, because if anyone could be the subject of a miracle, it was undoubtedly him. On May 1, 2020, he retired from all water polo-related activities.

The legend set an example in the water and inspired others to follow suit. His example, combined with his amazing willpower, made him indispensable to the team.

There may have been better players than him, but without him, the team would not have achieved its results.

He was voted Hungary’s best water polo player four times (1992, 1993, 1994, 2002) and in 2000, he was voted into the Hungarian water polo team of the century. In 2015, he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF), and in 2016, his handprint was added to the Hungarian Sports Stars Wall, as one of ten three-time Olympic water polo champions.

Benedek passed away on June 18, 2020, at the age of 47, five years ago. On the day of his death, thousands gathered to remember him at the Hajós Alfréd Swimming Pool on Margaret Island.

Via hirado.hu; Featured image: MTI/Mónus Márton

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