Lídia Sákovicsné Dömölky

(Redirected from Lidia Sakovics)

Lídia Sákovicsné Dömölky (born 9 March 1936) is a retired Hungarian fencer. She competed at the 1956, 1960, 1964 and 1968 Olympics and won one gold and two silver medals.[1]

Lídia Sákovicsné Dömölky
Dömölky at a hairdresser at the 1964 Olympics
Personal information
Born (1936-03-09) 9 March 1936 (age 88)
Budapest, Hungary
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight55 kg (121 lb)
Sport
SportFencing
ClubBudapesti Haladás
Vörös Meteor, Budapest
Medal record
Representing  Hungary
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place1964 TokyoFoil, team
Silver medal – second place1960 RomeFoil, team
Silver medal – second place1968 MexicoFoil, team
World Fencing Championships
Gold medal – first place1955 RomeFoil, individual
Gold medal – first place1955 RomeFoil, team
Gold medal – first place1959 BudapestFoil, team
Gold medal – first place1967 MontrealFoil, team
Silver medal – second place1961 TurinFoil, team
Silver medal – second place1963 GdanskFoil, individual
Silver medal – second place1963 GdanskFoil, team
Silver medal – second place1966 MoscowFoil, team
Bronze medal – third place1956 LondonFoil, team

Sports career

In 1955, aged 19, Dömölky won her first and only individual world title, though she continued winning other medals at world championships until 1967. After the 1956 Olympics, while touring the United States, she and her husband, József Sákovics, a fellow fencer, defected and stayed there for a year. Dömölky worked as a draftswoman and her husband as an auto mechanic. Dissatisfied, they returned to Budapest, where they lived ever since.

Post-sports career

After retiring from competitions around 1968 Sákovicsné Dömölky received a degree in physical education and a coaching certificate, yet instead of coaching she mostly worked as a sportswriter and co-authored several books on gymnastics and the culture of artistic movement. In 1996 she and her husband spent another year in the United States, as visiting coaches to the Harvard fencing team.[1]

Personal life

Her brother, Georges Dömölky, also competed in fencing and defected to the United States permanently.[1]

References