Ibolya Csák

Biography

Ibolya Csak was born on January 6, 1915 in Budapest, Hungary. Ibolya won the gold medal in the women's high jump at the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin, Germany and was one of several Jewish athletes to win medals at the 1936 Olympics. Csak went on to win another gold medal in the same event at the 1938 European Championships after the original winner Dora Ratjen from Germany turned out to be a man. Moreover, Ibolya not only was a competitor of the National Gymnastics Club from 1929 to 1939, but also was a gymnast from 1929 to 1932 and an athlete from 1933 to 1939 as well as won nine Hungarian titles altogether which include two in the long jump. Csak was the mother of two children, Ibolya and Attila. In addition, Ibolya worked in the central office of the Hungarian Banknote Printing Co. from 1936 to 1970. Csak received the International Fair Play Life Achievement Award in 2005. Ibolya died at age 91 in her native Budapest from complications following a fall on February 9, 2006.