Originally written and published by Sarah Teague for The Standard on September 25, 2017. Click here to be directed to the original posting. Featured photo by Missouri State Photo Services.
From a sole survivor in the pool to an athlete who has a team to lean on, Artur Osvath’s swimming career at Missouri State has pushed his limitations and proven his abilities in the water.
As an All-American and the first MSU swimmer to qualify for the NCAA Championships as a freshman, Osvath — now a junior business major — has done almost all he can do as an individual at this level, according to head coach Dave Collins.
But this success at Missouri State isn’t his whole story. With hard work, perseverance and a supportive family background, he learned to thrive through adversity in-and-out of the pool.
For Artur, his story starts back in Budapest, Hungary — his hometown — where his family has been swimming for generations. His mother, Angela Horvath, and his grandparents, have long before him swam in Hungary. It was his family who pushed him to excel in swimming and academics, so opportunities might come his way.
“(My family) was very supportive of me coming to the U.S.,” Artur said. “They always told me, ‘You should keep swimming and you should work hard so you can get a scholarship and study there.’ I miss them a lot. We only get to meet once a year when I go home over the summer.”
Artur’s father, Zoltan, gave some background on Artur’s life back in Hungary, and his family’s history in the pool.
“Artur’s mother (and) grandparents were swimmers, which is a very popular sport in our country,” Zoltan said. “The first olympic gold medal winner was a native hungarian Alfred Hajos.”
Entering his first year of high school in Budapest, Artur knew he needed to leave Hungary if he intended to keep swimming and go to college. According to Artur, although swimming is relevant in his country, there were no high school swimming teams, only club teams — and attending a university while swimming for a professional club is unheard of.
“You can’t really swim and go to college at all because college takes so much time from your life, it’s not as synchronized at it is here,” Artur said. “Since the very beginning of high school, I knew (this) was my goal—that I wanted to come here and study here — and I succeeded.”
After hearing about the program at Missouri State from former MSU student and swimmer Dora Kiss (2012-2016) who is also from Budapest, Artur contacted Collins.
“We took a bit of a risk on him because he really had one good event time-wise—the 200 breaststroke — and after talking with him a little bit and skyping with him, we thought, ‘well, we’ll take a shot,’” Collins said. “He’s really developed into a pretty well-rounded athlete.”
Not only did Artur need to come to the U.S. to study and swim at the same time, but he also wanted to be a part of a team.
“In Hungary, swimming is an individual sport, (while) here it’s more (team-oriented),” he said. “That’s the biggest difference and that’s what I love about it.”
When deciding whether to recruit Artur, Artur’s desire for a team pleased Collins.
“Our biggest strength as a program is just the team dynamic,” Collins said. “We don’t have a facility that’s going to be competitive with a lot of the schools that we’re recruiting against. We don’t have a budget that’s going to match what a lot of schools have. We don’t have a huge coaching staff … but I think what trumps a lot of that is the team dynamic and how close (and) welcoming (the team is.)”
However, his first few weeks on campus were not ideal, Artur said. Although he’s created a legacy now, starting college in a foreign school while striving to be a star athlete was overwhelming at first.
“I was two days late … school started on Monday and I got here Wednesday,” Artur said. “I was out of shape because I had surgery right before, so it was pretty hard for me to get back into shape. I was kind of lost in the beginning. My English was really bad. The pool is different (here than back home) … (but) I knew I would get back in shape, in a matter of time. I kept working.”
Although Artur struggled with a language barrier and culture shock at first, as it was his first time in the States, he adapted to his surroundings and counted on his knowledge of the sport.
“I think he found comfort in the water,” Collins said.
Not only does Artur impress in the pool, but Collins said his academics are impressive as well.
Artur explained before adapting to English completely, he struggled, especially in courses with a lot of reading. But Collins says he has one of the highest GPAs on the team. Artur would never admit this though — he gives credit to his team.
“We are a good team in the pool, and we have one of the highest GPAs in the whole country, the fourth highest right now,” he said. “That shows how hard we work — not only in the pool but also in the classroom.”
Like Artur had hoped for, he had a team, and, within the first week, he started to connect with his teammates. He emphasized reliance on each other in-and-out of the water is not a sign of weakness, but a smart move to boost morale and prepare for races.
Because of the strong team dynamic, it is apparent when speaking with anyone from MSU swimming, team competitions are the main focus.
Placing first at the Missouri Valley Conference Championship ranks as a high goal for the team, and while individual wins are recognized as major accomplishments, these accomplishments are expected to be celebrated, and then used to lift the team up.
“The best (Artur) can do at the conference meet individually is score 60 points and he’s put himself in a category to do that,” Collins said.
Artur, now, from a leadership standpoint, uses his skills to strengthen his teammates.
“So not only is he contributing the 60 points, scoring points at NCAAs (and) being an All-American as an individual … he’s bringing up the other people around him,” Collins said.
“He’s pretty much solidified his legacy as an athlete — as just an individual athlete in this program. There are only a few more things he can achieve on the athletic side, but it’s ‘what can we do as a team?’ He still hasn’t won a team championship, so I think that’s the next piece.”
Christopher Heye, senior biology major and member of the men’s swimming and diving team, told a story about Artur’s dedication to his team.
In 2016 at the Missouri Valley Conference Championship, Christopher and Artur shared a hotel room.
On the last day of the conference, Chris remembers waking up and seeing Artur curled in bed.
“It turned out he had spent all night throwing up because of the stomach flu and he could barely get out of bed,” Chris said. Chris asked Artur if he could still swim that day, and Artur responded with, “I don’t know, but I can’t let the team down.”
“He ended up placing 4th and was so exhausted after the race we had to help him get out of the pool,” Chris said. “I think this says the most about Artur because most people would have just sat out and given up …
“But Artur was willing to do everything he could to help the team no matter how weak or sick he was,” Chris continued.
With two years down at MSU and already achieving All-American status and holding the school’s record for the 200-yard breaststroke, Artur has two more years to use his accomplishments and skill to push the team forward.
“We’re halfway through his college career and we’re still wondering what the ceiling is,” Collins said.
With his family back in Hungary rooting him on, Artur’s father reflected on his time before he was an MSU Bear.
“Arthur started swimming when he was five, and we could realize, that he’s got a great talent for this sport,” Osvath said. “He was, at the first moment, like someone who was born for swimming.”
After his first year competing in Hungary, he won a gold medal and his family picked up on his talent for the breaststroke and butterfly – his two signature strokes – on top of his work in Individual Medleys.
Though Artur only sees his family once a year, his father believes his experiences at Missouri State have strengthened him into a stronger athlete and a motivated student.
“Arthur has changed a lot in positive ways,” Osvath said. “The distance from his family … made him stronger. His efforts in sport and study will give him a great chance and stability in his future life.
“For our entire family he is just like a hero, for his younger brother like an idol,” Osvath continued. “I just think not only for his family, but his friends, schoolmates, teachers and (fellow) swimmers, (he is) a good example of endurance and hard work.”
For Artur’s future plans, his goals are to not only help his team win at the Missouri Valley Conference Championship, but also place in the top eight at NCAA Championships. And for his long-term goals?
Artur can’t help but keep his eye on the 2020 Olympics.
“I love winning, it just feels great … I guess I just got addicted.”
