Lidia DÖMÖLKI-SAKOVICS

Lídia Sákovicsné Dömölky was world team foil champion in 1955, at the age of 19. She soon married Hungarian fencer József Sákovics. After the Melbourne Olympics, while on a tour of the United States, they elected to defect and remain in the US, with József working as an auto mechanic and Sákovicsné Dömölky working as a draftswoman. The jobs were not enough for them, however, and they returned to Hungary in 1957, where they lived in Budapest throughout their lives. Sákovicsné Dömölky went on to compete at the 1960, 1964, and 1968 Olympics, winning one gold and two silver medals in team foil. She then earned her degree in physical education along with a coaching certificate, but she worked as a sportswriter and co-authored several books on aesthetic movement and gymnastics. She and József spent 1996 in the US, serving as visiting coaches to the Harvard fencing team. Her brother, Georges Dömölky, was also a Hungarian fencer in 1956, but did not compete at the Olympics. He did defect permanently to the US, however, living outside of Boston.