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Ervin Zador

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Swimmer

The Resume

    (June 7, 1935-April 28, 2012)
    Born in Budapest, Hungary
    Water polo player
    Member of the Hungarian team that won a gold medal at the Melbourne Summer Olympics (1956)
    During the Olympic semi-final against the Soviet Union, was punched in the face during the closing minutes by Soviet player Valentin Prokopov
    Game known as the 'Blood in the Water' match
    Match took on symbolic importance due to the Soviet Union's suppression of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution
    Defected after the Olympics

Why he might be annoying:

    The injury kept him from playing in the final match against Yugoslavia. ('It was the longest hour of my life. It was harder than being in the water.')
    One of his first jobs after defecting was teaching dance in an Arthur Murray studio in Washington, DC. ('I stepped on the feet of senators' wives.')
    He said he wished he had been remembered as a great player rather than 'the guy who got smacked.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    After the 'Blood in the Water' match, he told reporters, 'We were playing not just for ourselves, but for every Hungarian.'
    He coached a teenaged Mark Spitz.
    He noted about defecting, 'Instead of going home a hero, making 3,000 forints a month, having a chance to go to the next three Olympics, I gave that up to be a nobody with no marketable skills who didn't speak the language.... There hasn't been a moment I regretted it.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 9 Votes: 77.78% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 6 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 16 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying