István Hernek

István Hernek competed at the 1954 World Championships, winning a silver medal in the C1-K and a bronze in the C1-10K. After the 1956 Olympics he defected to the United States, as did many Hungarian Olympians in response to the Soviet repression of the Hungarian October Revolution. In the United States Hernek coached canoeing and spent 32 years as a hydraulic engineer. He married Mary Ann DuChai, a 1960 US Olympian, and together they ran a resort, the Dune Shore Motel, on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, for over 50 years. Well into his 70s, Hernek also served on the ski patrol at HoliMount Ski Area near his home. Hernek died when he was attempting to make repairs to the roof of their motel, and he fell from the roof.