Hosszú, Katinka << HOH soo, kah TIHN kuh >> (1989-…), is a champion Hungarian swimmer . Hosszú specializes in individual medley events, in which the swimmer uses four different strokes in a race—freestyle, butterfly, breaststroke, and backstroke. Hosszú won three gold medals in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She was the FINA Swimmer of the Year in 2014 and 2015. FINA is the organization that governs international competitive swimming.
Hosszú has set world records in both long course and short course events. Long course races are held in pools 50 meters long. Short course races are held in pools 25 meters long. She set world records in the 100-meter individual medley (short course), 200-meter individual medley (short course and long course), 400-meter medley (short course and long course), 100-meter backstroke (short course), and 200-meter backstroke (short course).
Hosszú competed in the Summer Olympic Games for Hungary in 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016. She did not win a medal until the 2016 games, when she won gold medals in the 100-meter backstroke, 200-meter individual medley, and 400-meter individual medley, and a silver medal in the 200-meter backstroke.
Hosszú was born on May 3, 1989, in Pécs, Hungary. From 2008 through 2012, she attended the University of Southern California (USC), where she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and starred on the school swimming team all four years.
