Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 12 No. 3 | January 2020

40 Inside Hokie Sports A s Olympic experiences go, Reka Gyorgy loved pretty much everything that Brazil offered. As a 20-year-old swimmer representing her native country of Hungary at the 2016 Summer Olympics, she enjoyed the sights and sounds of Rio de Janeiro, she loved hanging out with athletes from other countries, she took a stroll on Copacabana Beach, and being a part of the opening ceremony was, without question, a special moment. But there is a portion of her experience that she tries to forget—her performance in the pool. Gyorgy finished seventh in her heat during a preliminary round of the 200-meter backstroke and failed to make it to the semifinals. “I wasn’t happy after my race,” she said. “I still didn’t watch it back.” That race serves as the primary motivation for the Virginia Tech swimmer these days, as she spends nearly all of her free time training and preparing in hopes of earning a spot on the Hungarian national team that will be competing at the 2020 Summer Olympics taking place in Tokyo, Japan next summer. The Ullo, Hungary native remains focused on the 200-meter individual medley—a combination of four different swimming strokes within one race—and the 200 freestyle, with the goal of earning a spot on her country’s 800 freestyle relay team. Gyorgy certainly has proven her abilities in those events at the collegiate level. She holds the Tech record in the 200-yard IM and has the third-best time in the 200-yard freestyle event. International distances are measured in meters, making the events a little longer, but her times at Tech convert close to what she thinks she needs to earn a spot on Hungary’s team. “I do, actually,” Gyorgy said when asked if she felt confident about earning a place on Hungary’s team. “In the 200 IM, my best time is 2:13.7 [in meters], and I feel like if I’m doing 2:12.5 or under, I can make the team. Or in the 200 freestyle, I have another chance because of the 800 freestyle relay. In every individual event, they are taking just two—the two best. But for the relays, they are taking two other persons. It’s four people in the relay, so plus two, that’s six.” A goal —perhaps better referred to as a “dream”—of qualifying for the Hungarian team and participating in Tokyo forced her to make some sacrifices. The biggest came when she and Virginia Tech head swimming coach Sergio Lopez Miro decided that she needed to take a redshirt season and thus not participate for the Hokies. The decision takes some pressure off of her. She no longer needs to worry about scoring points in multiple events for the Hokies at the ACC Championships, nor meeting NCAA qualification times. Plus, the decision allows her to narrow her focus. She now gets to spend her practice time specifically training for the 200 IM and 200 freestyle. Of course, that decision hinders the Hokies, who lose their best women’s swimmer. Gyorgy is a two-time ACC gold medalist in the 400 IM, and she earned All-America honors in the event as a freshman. The past two seasons, she has been an honorable mention All-American in the event. Gyorgy also is making a sacrifice. While she trains with her teammates and cheers for them on the pool deck during meets, she admits that she misses the competition. “The first time that I came here and I experienced a dual meet feeling, it was so strange for me because we are not cheering at home [in Hungary] for each other,” Gyorgy said. “It will give you more energy to swim just because you can see your teammates jumping on the pool deck and cheering for you. Even if you are tired, you can use their energy to finish your race. So yes, I miss that feeling.” Gyorgy elected to stay in Blacksburg and train instead of returning to her home country mainly because of Lopez Miro. Tech’s coach arrived in Blacksburg with an outstanding reputation and as a proven winner in swimming circles. His bronze medal in the 200 breaststroke at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, gives him instant CHASING A SECOND OLYMPIC DREAM