Virginia Tech swimmer Reka Gyorgy swam for Hungary in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.
As Olympic experiences go, Reka Gyorgy loved pretty much everything that Brazil offered.
As a 20-year-old swimmer representing her native country of Hungary at the 2016 Summer Olympics, she enjoyed the sights and sounds of Rio de Janeiro. She loved hanging out with athletes from other countries and took a stroll on Copacabana Beach. Being a part of the opening ceremony was, without question, a special moment.
But there is a portion of her experience that she tries to forget: her performance in the pool. Gyorgy finished seventh in her heat during a preliminary round of the 200-meter backstroke and failed to make it to the semifinals.
“I wasn’t happy after my race,” she said. “I still don’t watch it.”
That race serves as the primary motivation for the Virginia Tech swimmer these days, as she spends nearly all of her free time training and preparing in hopes of earning a spot on the Hungarian national team that will be competing at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, this summer.
The Ullo, Hungary, native remains focused on the 200-meter individual medley – a combination of four different swimming strokes within one race – and the 200 freestyle, with the goal of earning a spot on her country’s 800 freestyle relay team.
Gyorgy certainly has proven her abilities in those events at the collegiate level. She holds the Tech record in the 200-yard individual medley and has the third-best time in the 200-yard freestyle event. International distances are measured in meters, making the events a little longer, but her times at Tech convert close to what she thinks she needs to earn a spot on Hungary’s team.
“I do, actually,” Gyorgy said when asked if she felt confident about earning a place on Hungary’s team. “In the 200 IM, my best time is 2:13.7 [in meters], and I feel like if I’m doing 2:12.5 or under, I can make the team. Or in the 200 freestyle, I have another chance because of the 800-freestyle relay. In every individual event, they are taking just the two best. But for the relays, they are taking two other persons. It’s fur people in the relay, so plus two, that’s six.”
A goal – perhaps better referred to as a “dream – of qualifying for the Hungarian team and participating in Tokyo forced hGyorgy to make some sacrifices. The biggest came when she and Virginia Tech head swimming coach Sergio Lopez Miro decided that she needed to take a redshirt season and thus not participate on the Hokies’ team.
The decision took some pressure off her. She no longer needs to worry about scoring points in multiple events for the Hokies at the ACC Championships, or about meeting NCAA qualification times. Plus, the decision allows her to narrow her focus. She now gets to spend her practice time specifically training for the 200 IM and 200 freestyle.
Of course, that decision hinders the Hokies, who lose their best women’s swimmer. Gyorgy is a two-time ACC gold medalist in the 400 IM, and she earned All-America honors in the event as a freshman. The past two seasons, she has been an honorable mention All-American in the event.
While Gyorgy trains with her teammates and cheers for them on the pool deck during meets, she admits that she misses the competition.
“The first time that I came here and I experienced a dual meet feeling, it was so strange for me because we do not cheer at home [in Hungary] for each other,” Gyorgy said. “It gives you more energy to swim just because you can see your teammates jumping on the pool deck and cheering for you. Even if you are tired, you can use their energy to finish your race. So, yes, I miss that feeling.”
Gyorgy elected to stay in Blacksburg and train instead of returning to her home country mainly because of VT swimming and diving coach Lopez Miro. Tech’s coach arrived in Blacksburg with an outstanding reputation as a proven winner in swimming circles. His bronze medal in the 200 breast stroke at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, gives him instant credibility. He also knows how to coach winners, guiding American Ryan Murphy and Joseph Schooling of Hong Kong to gold medals in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Murphy won three of them while Schooling won one.
So why not train under someone with such credentials? That decision was an easy one for Gyorgy.
“I really believe in him,” she said. “He’s a partner in everything. If I feel tired, I can go to him and ask him to do an easier practice or skip a practice. Or don’t do rowing between practices. If I feel the practice is not that hard for me, I can ask him to do more yardage.
“He had the Hungarian coach when he won the silver medal at the Olympics, so we also have a connection. But he’s not American, so he can understand why long-course meters are more important for the swimmer than yardage. He knows everything about professional swimming.”
In many respects, Gyorgy and Virginia Tech wrestler Mekhi Lewis, who also continues to train for a spot on an Olympic team, are following the same path. Both took a season away from competition for Virginia Tech, and both train in Blacksburg with their respective teams. Both also compete unattached at various meets; Gyorgy competed at the U.S. Open in Atlanta the first week of December.
But because he took a redshirt season as a freshman two years ago, Lewis is taking an “Olympic” redshirt year, which precludes him from being enrolled in classes at Tech. In contrast, Gyorgy continues to take classes as part of a traditional redshirt season.
In fact, with the exception of not competing for the Hokies, she follows a schedule similar to that of her teammates. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, she practices from 6-7:30 a.m., goes to a class, rests or studies for a few hours, returns to the Christiansburg Aquatic Center for a late afternoon practice, and then spends the rest of the evening studying. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, she practices from 6-8:30 a.m. and takes three classes in the afternoon. On Saturdays, she practices from 7-10 a.m. and then has the rest of the day free.
“Sunday is my study day,” she said. “I’m a morning person. I wake up at 6-6:30. I’ll make breakfast, clean the house, study a lot, and then in the night, that’s our relaxing night. We have movie night with my teammates or my roommates.”
Her long-term plan consists of getting an undergraduate degree in human development with a minor in psychology from Virginia Tech in December and using her final year of eligibility during the 2020-21 season. During that time, she plans to apply to graduate school at Tech in hopes of pursuing a master’s degree in family and marriage therapy with the goal of becoming a therapist.
Her long-term swimming plans are a little more up in the air. She instead keeps her focus more on the short term. She has several months and competitions to reach a qualifying standard and earn a spot on the Hungarian national team. Hungary’s national meet takes place this month, and that represents one of the final opportunities to reach a qualifying mark as well.
She desperately wants another crack at the Olympics. Of course, every athlete wants that, but she wants it more for redemption.
“It was just such a bad feeling,” Gyorgy said of her 2016 Olympic experience in Rio. “I was so nervous before I jumped into the water. Usually I can focus just on myself and don’t hear any voices from the bleachers, but it was just crazy to hear all the 10,000 people yelling and screaming and that kind of stuff.
“Maybe when I finish with my career, I will look back and say, ‘Yes, I did something, and I did a good job. I represented my country, and it’s such a good feeling.’ But right now, I know myself. I can do a better job, and I’m just not happy with the result of what I did.”
With international experience, motivation, a proven coach, and obviously a pool full of individual talent, Gyorgy is in a perfect position. She hopes all those things will lead to her getting that coveted second opportunity.
–Jimmy Robertson, VT Athletics
