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Alfréd Hajós (1878–1955)
In tribute

Alfréd Hajós

1878–1955 · Budapest · The “Hungarian Dolphin”

The first modern Olympic swimming champion, who became an award-winning architect. He swam, and he built.

At the 1896 Athens Games he won the 100m and 1,200m freestyle in the open sea, the first swimmer ever crowned Olympic champion. He was 18. He then trained as an architect under Ödön Lechner, and in 1924 took Olympic silver in the art competitions for a stadium design, one of only two people ever to medal in both sport and art.

That dual legacy, champion in the water and craftsman on land, is exactly what we named this company after.

1896
Two golds in the open sea at Athens. The first swimmer ever crowned Olympic champion, at eighteen
1924
Olympic silver in the art competitions, for a stadium design
Two people
Have ever medaled in both sport and art. He is one of them
His life
  1. 1878
    Born Arnold Guttmann in Budapest
    Into a Jewish family of modest means. A multi-sport talent from an early age.
  2. 1891
    Tragedy turns him to the water
    At 13, after his father drowned in the Danube, he vowed to become a strong swimmer, and took the name Hajós, Hungarian for “sailor.”
  3. 1896
    First Olympic swimming champion
    At 18, in the freezing, 4-metre swells of the Bay of Zea near Athens, he won both the 100m (1:22.2) and 1,200m (18:22.1) freestyle. He was the first modern Olympic swimming champion, and Hungary’s first Olympic champion.
    “My will to live completely overcame my desire to win.”
    Hajós, after the 1,200m freestyle in the Bay of Zea, 1896 · Swimming World
  4. 1899
    Becomes an architect
    He graduated in architecture from the Budapest Technical University, later working under Ödön Lechner and opening his own practice specializing in sport facilities.
  5. 1924
    A medal in art, too
    At the Paris Olympic art competitions he won silver for a stadium design, making him one of only two people ever to medal in both sport and art at the Olympics.
  6. 1930
    He built what lasts
    His National Swimming Stadium opened on Margaret Island in the Danube. Renamed the Alfréd Hajós National Swimming Stadium in his honor in 1975, it still hosts championships today.
Athens, 1896

Asked at the dinner for the Olympic champions where he had learned to swim so well

“In the water.”
Alfréd Hajós International Olympic Committee

Why his name?

Born Arnold Guttmann, he took the name Hajós, Hungarian for “sailor”, after his father drowned in the Danube and he vowed to master the water. He was one of only two people ever to win Olympic medals in both sport and art.

He didn’t just compete in the water; he built the places where the sport lives. His National Swimming Stadium still stands on Margaret Island in Budapest, named in his honor. Champion and craftsman in one person.

That’s the standard we hold ourselves to: honor the race, and build the thing that lasts. We carry the name with respect, and a little awe.

Why his story matters to us

Hajós learned to swim because his father drowned. More than a century later, drowning is still one of the leading preventable causes of death for children, and swimming remains one of the least accessible sports, largely closed to Latino, Black, and other communities of color. As a Latina founder, that stays with me. If Hajos ever grows into something that can give back, making swimming more accessible is where we’d want to start.

Historical details drawn from public records including the International Swimming Hall of Fame, Olympics.com, and Britannica. Hajos Athletics LLC is an independent company and is not affiliated with the Hajós family or estate; we use the name as a tribute.