Katalin Kovács is a Hungarian

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

 sprint canoer

Canoe racing

This article discusses canoe sprint and canoe marathon, competitive forms of canoeing and kayaking on more or less flat water. Both sports are governed by the International Canoe Federation ....

 who has competed since 1997. Competing in three Summer Olympics, she won six medals with two golds (K-2 500 m: 2004

2004 Summer Olympics

The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...

, 2008

2008 Summer Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

) and four silvers (K-2 500 m: 2000

2000 Summer Olympics

The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

, K-4 500 m: 2000, 2004, 2008).

Kovács also won a record 40 medals at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships including 31 golds (K-1 500 m: 2002

2002 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

The 2002 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Seville, Spain.The men's competition consisted of nine Canadian and nine kayak events...

, 2003

2003 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

The 2003 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held September 10–14, 2003 in Gainesville, Georgia, United States at Lake Lanier. Located north of Atlanta, this was also where the canoe sprint and rowing events for the 1996 Summer Olympics took place....

, 2007, 2009

2009 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

The 2009 International Canoe Federation Canoe Sprint World Championships were held 12–16 August 2009 in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, on Lake Banook. The Canadian city was selected to host the championships in October 2003 after having done so previously in 1997...

; K-1 1000 m: 2002, 2003, 2007, 2009; K-2 200 m: 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010

2010 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

The 2010 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held 19–22 August 2010 in Poznań, Poland, on Lake Malta. This is the third time that the Polish city will host the championships, having done so previously in 1990 and 2001...

, 2011

2011 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

The 2011 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships was the thirty-ninth edition of the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, that took place between 17–21 August 2011 in Szeged, Hungary. The Southern Hungarian city welcomed the world event for the third time, having hosted the championship previously in...

; K-2 500 m: 2005, 2006; K-2 1000 m: 2005, 2006; K-4 200 m: 1998

1998 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

The 1998 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Szeged, Hungary.The men's competition consisted of nine Canadian and nine kayak events. Women competed in eight events, all in kayak....

, 1999

1999 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

The 1999 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Milan, Italy at the Idroscalo.The men's competition consisted of nine Canadian and nine kayak events. Women competed in eight events, all kayak....

, 2001

2001 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

The 2001 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Poznań, Poland at Lake Malta. The Polish city had hosted the event previously in 1990....

, 2003, 2006; K-4 500 m: 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011; K-4 1000 m: 2006), six silvers (K-1 1000 m: 2010, K-4 200 m: 2007, 2009, K-4 500 m: 1997

1997 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

The 1997 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada on Lake Banook.The men's competition consisted of nine Canadian and nine kayak events. Eight events were held for the women, all in kayak...

, 1998, 2007), and three bronzes (K-1 500 m: 2001, K-1 1000 m: 1999, K-2 500 m: 1999).

She was elected Hungarian Sportswoman of the Year in 2002 and 2003. Together with Natasa Janics

Natasa Janics

Nataša Janić is a Hungarian sprint canoer with a Serbian background, who won two Olympic gold medals in the sprint canoe events at the 2004 Summer Olympics and another gold and silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics...

she earned the title Hungarian Sportsteam of the year in 2005, 2006 and 2010.