Zoltán Szilárd

Zoltán Szilárd began his swimming career after World War II as a competitor for the FTC. As a youth competitor Szilárd won the Hungarian 100 metres freestyle championship in 1948, and a year later he won the same event as a senior. In 1950 he won the championship gold medal in the 200 metres backstroke, and as a member of the Hungarian national team in the 4 x 100 metres freestyle.

In 1949 Szilárd won the World University Championships with the 4 x 100 metres freestyle relay and won the silver medal in the 100 metres freestyle. He was also a member of the 4 x 100 metres freestyle relay team that set three European records.

At the 1948 London Olympics Szilárd finished seventh in the 100 metres freestyle. Four years later, however, he was no longer included in the Olympic team because someone had whispered that he did not want to return from Helsinki.

In 1956 he and three friends tried to escape to Austria by jumping into the water from a regular boat on the Danube, but only Szilárd made it to shore alive. In 1957, with a degree in mechanical engineering in his pocket, he moved to the United States, where he first worked as a flight instructor and then operated his own airport. Later he also operated a real estate agency and a car dealership.