Katinka Hosszu was named the Hungarian Athlete of the Year and her husband, coach, and agent Shane Tusup was named the Hungarian Coach of the Year at the National Sports Gala held in Budapest on Thursday. The event is supported by the Hungarian Olympic Committee and recognizes the best across sports in the country.
For Hosszu, this is another honor in a bulging trophy case and her second-straight Hungarian Athlete of the Year award.
The year for this dynamic couple has been almost too crowded to recount all of the awards, but included on the tally is four World Short Course Championships, six European Championship medals (including three individual golds), and becoming the winningest swimmer in the history of the FINA World Cup Series en route to another resounding overall title.
She also ends the year with four World Records, all set in 2014, and several more set along the way.
This weekend, Hosszu is finishing her season at the Russian-hosted Salnikov Cup, where she’s still swimming new lifetime bests and Hungarian Records.
Hosszu’s demonstrated drive to compete, and to compete at a high-level, is virtually unmatched by anything we’ve ever seen in swimming. As the 2016 Rio Olympics approach, it will be up to Tusup to keep Hosszu motivated, be that by finding new challenges or by continuing to feed the insatiable fire of a growing legacy.
Gymnast Berki Krisztian won the male Athlete of the Year award after being crowned the World Champion on the Pommel Horse: his third such title to go with the 2012 Olympic gold medal.
