Cecília Hartmann-Berkes

Cecilia Hartmann-Berkes learned to kayak on the Danube when she was in high school. She first competed in 1950 as an athlete for the Bp. Építők. In 1955 Hartmann-Berkes changed affiliation and continued competing for MTK. On domestic waters, she won the K-1 500m championship three times (1951, 1952, 1956) and the 3000m championship once (1952).

Hartmann-Berkes represented Hungary at two Olympics, finishing sixth in the K-1 500m in Helsinki in 1952, and fourth four years later in Melbourne. After the Olympics, she returned home in December 1956 and then left for London in January following her husband. Their two-year-old child remained in Budapest. The Hungarian authorities continuously obstructed family reunification, which is why it took six years for their child to finally be brought home.

After that, the family moved to Australia. When her son started kayaking, Hartmann-Berkes also got into kayaking and two years later, she not only won the Australian championship, but also competed at the World Championship in Sofia at the age of 46. She then continued to work as a coach and trained numerous Olympic and world championship competitors. At the age of 72, she participated in the Murray Kayak-Canoe Marathon, where participants covered 404 kilometres on the river in five days. Even at the age of 80, she continued to row with her students on a daily basis.