Gyarmati Noted That Her Father, Who Died 13 Years Ago in August, Used to Joke That It Might Be Better to Get on the Wall While Still Alive.

Andrea Gyarmati, the Hungarian Olympic medalist swimmer, recalled a poignant memory of her late father, legendary water polo player Dezső Gyarmati, in a personal essay published on 24.hu. She wrote about visiting the Komjádi Béla Swimming Pool in Budapest, where a memorial plaque honors Hungarian Olympic, world, and European champions in swimming and water polo after their deaths. Gyarmati noted that her father, who died 13 years ago in August, used to joke that it might be better to get on the wall while still alive.

She described the comforting ritual of running her fingers over her parents' names on the plaque whenever she visits the pool after training. In the essay, she also shared a raw and emotional moment from her father's final years, when he was seriously ill and in pain after multiple surgeries. Once he told me: 'I'm scared, my little girl… Life is very good, she wrote, adding that it was a shocking statement because she had never seen him afraid before. She reflected that as a doctor, it was difficult to witness.