Career
He is considered by many to be one of the greatest medley swimmers in history. He is the first swimmer ever to swim the 200 m medley (long course) in less than 2 minutes. Possibly one of the greatest medley swimmers of all time, Tamás Darnyi dominated his speciality between 1985 and 1993.
A teen talent, Darnyi might have competed at the 1984 Olympics, but both the Eastern European boycott and a personal accident prevented this.
He was hit by a snowball in the left eye, which left him blind in one eye. After recovering, he started an unbeaten streak in medley events that lasted from 1985 to 1993.
During that period, he bettered the world record in both medley events three times. After his final European title in 1993 (400 medley), he retired and managed a Budapest sports school.
He was named Male World Swimmer of the Year in 1987 and 1991 by Swimming World magazine.