Ilona Novák

Bust of Ilona Novák on the Olympic Promenade des Ferencvárosi Torna Club

Ilona Novák ( born May 16, 1925 in Budapest ) is a former Hungarian swimmer.

Life

Ilona Novák began in 1938 her 18 -year-long swimming career. From 1941 to 1954 she was a member of the Hungarian national team. In total, she won 54 national and international gold medals. At the Olympic Summer Games in London in 1948, she finished fourth in the 100m backstroke and fifth with the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay. In 1952 she participated in the Summer Olympics in Helsinki, where they 100 m freestyle relay together with her younger sister Éva Novák, Judit Temes and Katalin Szoke won the gold medal as captain of the 4 ×. With a time of 4:24,4 min their season broke the previous long course world record, the Hungarian swimmers had first drawn up in April of the same year in Moscow, then in the occupation of Mária Littomericzky, Éva Novák, Éva Székely and Katalin Szöke.

Ilona Novák worked as a sports teacher in Budapest, as well as gymnastics and swimming coach. In 1971, she was Vice President of the Hungarian Swimming Federation.

In 1973, she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame along with her sister Éva Novák. They were the only pair of sisters, the ever won an Olympic gold medal in swimming.