Jenő Tihanyi
Dr. Jeno 'Doc' Tihanyi (Hungarian: Tihanyi Jenő; 1936 - March 4, 2007) was a Canadian swim coach inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 2004.[1] He was the fourth coach in Canadian History to receive such an honour. He was named Ontario University Association (OUA) Coach of the Year in 1990 and OWIAA Coach of the Year in 1994. He was best known for coaching famed Olympic swimmer Alex Baumann.[2]
He earned a diploma in physical education from his homeland of Hungary. After immigrating to Canada, he earned both a bachelor's degree and master's degree in physical education at the University of British Columbia. In 1972, he earned a Ph.D. at the University of Alberta. His thesis (Ph.D.) was entitled "Relationship of selected maturational determinants to competitive swimming."
He was a professor at Laurentian University, located in Sudbury, Ontario, since 1974, and was a professor in child growth and development in the School of Human Movement.[3] He founded both the Laurentian University Aqua Vees Varsity Swim Team and the age-group Laurentian University Swim Club (now known as Sudbury Laurentian Swim Club) as head coach.[2] He was the director of the division of physical education from 1993 to 1996 (now known as the School of Human Kinetics).[3]
Although Tihanyi coached several national and international level athletes, his coaching philosophy actually focused on personal self-improvement first.[1]
After his death in 2007, Laurentian University officially renamed its swimming facilities the Jeno Tihanyi Olympic Gold Pool in his memory.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 "'If you fail to plan, you plan to fail'". Sudbury Star, October 9, 2008.
- 1 2 "Legendary Canadian swim coach dies". CBC Sports, March 5, 2007.
- 1 2 "Swim coach Jeno Tihanyi dead at 71". Northern Life, March 6, 2007.