Balázs Gercsák

Who is Balázs Gercsák?

Balázs Gercsák is a Hungarian swimmer, who specialized in freestyle events. Gercsak is a former member of the Florida Gators, and a graduate of digital media productions at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. He is also the brother of open water swimmer Csaba Gercsák, who won the bronze medal in the 25 km marathon at the 2011 FINA World Championships in Shanghai, China.

Gercsak made his official debut at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, where he competed in the men's 4×200 m freestyle relay, along with his teammates Balázs Makány, Tamás Szűcs, and four-time Olympian Tamás Kerékjártó. Swimming the second leg in heat two, Gercsak recorded a split of 1:54.03, but the Hungarians rounded out the field to last place and sixteenth overall with a final time of 7:31.78.

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Gercsak qualified as an individual swimmer for the men's 400 m freestyle, by posting his lifetime best and clearing a FINA B-standard entry time of 3:52.21 from the national championships in Budapest. He challenged six other swimmers on the second heat, including Greece's Spyridon Gianniotis, Switzerland's Dominik Meichtry, and South Africa's Jean Basson. Gercsak finished his heat in sixth place by more than a second behind Basson with a time of 3:54.14. Gercsak, however, failed to advance into the final, as he placed thirty-second overall in the preliminary heats.