Head Hungarian Coach Laszlo Kiss Resigns Amid Hosszu Controversy

It’s been a tumultuous start to the new year for the Hungarian Swimming Federation, and now national team head coach Laszlo Kiss has resigned amid a conflict between one of the nation’s top swimmers and its governing federation.

The Associated Press reports that Kiss, a veteran coach who had headed the Hungarian national team for almost two decades, has resigned after Katinka Hosszu‘s press conference criticizing the Hungarian swimming federation for a failure to support its athletes.

Kiss had been the Hungarian national team head coach since 1999, and is highly-renowned for his work with Olympic medalists Krisztina Egerszegi and Attlia Czene, not to mention reigning 200 fly world champ Laszlo Cseh.

The situation with Hosszu has been uncomfortable for awhile, though it’s only become public in the last month. Late in December, Hosszu, a world champ and world record-holder, held a press conference criticizing the federation for what she said was inadequate support for athletes compared to the performances expected.

“While the Hungarian Swimming Federation expects world class performances, the support they provide is far from world class level,” Hosszu said in that press conference.

More recently, Hosszu reportedly tore up a contract with the federation providing her money in exchange for promoting the 2017 World Aquatics Championships, which Hungary will host. Hosszu also announced that she was stepping away from the federation, though there still isn’t any indication of exactly what that means logistically.

Hosszu criticized federation president Tamas Gyarfas in that press conference, along with Kiss, the national team head coach. The AP report indicates that Kiss said the tipping point leading to his resignation came when Hosszu refused to talk with him after that press conference, which happened earlier this week.

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Swimmer
8 years ago

what is Hosszu’s beef with the federation? were her shipments late?

Gina Rhinestone
8 years ago

The Hungarian Free Press based & funded in Ottawa Canada has taken on Katinka’s fight as ammunition against Victor Orban.

They object to the Budapest World Champs because it is a vehicle to attack Orban who has invested his & Hungary’s reputation on it when , of course , they say the money should go to health & education . Not that they live in Hungary themselves of course . They also criticised Cseh for not supporting Katinka .

I read she actually tore the contract up in public & stormed off ( maybe that is not correct ). No way this does not have major implications for the Hungarian effort in Rio extending to the Budapest Championships &… Read more »

About Jared Anderson

Jared Anderson

Jared Anderson swam for nearly twenty years. Then, Jared Anderson stopped swimming and started writing about swimming. He's not sick of swimming yet. Swimming might be sick of him, though. Jared was a YMCA and high school swimmer in northern Minnesota, and spent his college years swimming breaststroke and occasionally pretending …

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