Csilla Madarász-Dobay

At the age of 10, Csilla Madarász started swimming at Bp. Spartacus, but in 1955 she joined Ferencváros Budapest. At the 1958 European Championships in Budapest, at age 15, she finished fifth in the 4x100 freestyle relay. Two years later she twice broke the European record in the 100 m freestyle and was selected for the Olympics in Roma, where she finished fifth in the 100 m freestyle and fourth and sixth places with the relays. Four years later in Tokyo, she finished sixth at 100 m and again fourth in the 4x100 m freestyle relay.

Madarász-Dobay won the Universiade six times, stood twice on the podium at the European Championships, and won the Grand Prix in Paris in 1962 in the 100-meter freestyle. Madarász won 14 Hungarian titles. She was also a member of the first unofficial Hungarian women’s water polo team. In 1964, after her husband, Gyula Dobay, was arrested for smuggling, Madarász retired from swimming.

Madarász-Dobay graduated from the College of Physical Education and worked as a coach in Tatbánya and Budapest. She later worked as a beautician and then in the real estate business.