If the name Katinka Hosszú rings a bell, it’s because she’s all over the news for her solid performance at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The 27-year-old Hungarian swimmer, has earned herself two gold medals. For swimming fans Googling terms like, “Katinka Hosszú world record,” “Katinka Hosszú husband,” “Katinka Hosszú Rio,” and “Katinka Hosszú bio,” you’ve come to the right place because we’ll tell you everything you want to know about the star swimmer.
Here are five interesting facts about Katinka Hosszú, including her husband and world records:
#1 She Won Two Olympic Gold Medals and Broke a World Record
The 5’8″ swimmer outpaced her opponents in the Women’s 100m Backstroke, and Women’s 400m individual medley, to earn Hungary two gold medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Hosszú also broke the world record in the 400m individual medley, with a new time of 4 minutes 26.36 seconds. She beat existing world record by 2.07 seconds. A commendable feat indeed!
#2 She is called “The Iron Lady”
Hosszú has been referred to as “The Iron Lady” since she graced the podium five times in Beijing after entering the 100-, 200- and 400-meter individual medleys; the 200 backstroke; the 200 butterfly; and the 200, 400 and 800 freestyles. The term “Iron Lady” became a headline after the London Olympics, when the Chinese media asked her if she was made of iron. Consequently, it became her nickname.
First practice in rio ✔️ #roadtorio #IronLady #ironnation
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#3 Her Husband is Her Coach
Hosszú’s husband, Shane Tusup is her coach. Yes, the person who trains the Olympic gold medalist, is none other than her better half! The happy couple met while swimming at the University of Southern California, and got married the year after she failed to win a medal at the London Olympics. Recently, Tusup has come under fire after many people noted his highly emotional responses, and has gotten a reputation for being a bully.
#4 Controversial Relationship with her Husband/ Coach
Many eyebrows were raised at the swimming event, when fellow athletes noted Tusup’s inappropriate behavior. Jessica Hardy, an Olympic swimmer who used to train with Hosszú, stated, “I’ve seen a lot of inappropriate and not-OK behavior in Shane. I’ve seen coaches exhibit that kind of behavior in training, but this is another level. It’s scary.”
Hosszú defended her husband of three years saying that “he’s pretty hard as a coach, but at home, he’s supersweet and loving and really funny. So we can laugh a lot.” She also described her relationship with Tusup as “pretty complicated.” Hosszú revealed, “I’m definitely more the one who’s laid-back. Because he’s so emotional and he really wants us to get the goals we set for ourselves, that’s probably why he’s able to be that way.” Tusup has also refuted rumors that he’s a bully.
A photo posted by Iron Lady (@hosszukatinka) on
In an interview, Tusup confessed, “That’s what it appears a lot of times. I get a bad rep in the U.S. because these parents in the stands, they’re going, ‘He’s such a jerk; he yells at her when she doesn’t swim fast.’ No, the hard part of swimming is that there’s a lot of times you just settle for OK, and we agreed that the goal was never to settle for OK, that we’re going to keep pushing, even if we don’t get it, to be great, to be amazing, to be legendary. I always say if you find a coach who can make you a step or two better, or if what we’re doing is not working and you think there’s something you need to change, you need to tell me because then I’ll step back, that coach will step in, and we’ll be happy. She has that offer to this day.”
#5 Her Siblings are Athletes, as well
It seems that athleticism runs in the Hosszú family, since both Katinka’s brothers are into professional sports. Her younger brother, Ádám Hosszú is a forward in the Hungary national futsal team while her other brother, Gergely Hosszú, is a basketball player.