| Sport: | Water polo |
| Birth Date: | 2 November 1946 |
| Birth Place: | Budapest, Hungary |
István Görgényi (born 2 November 1946) is a Hungarian former water polo player who won a silver medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics and coached the Australian women's national water polo team to the gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.[1]
Gorgenyi represented Hungary as a player 96 times and was a member of teams that won the silver medal at 1972 Munich Olympics, won the gold medal at the 1973 World Championships, the silver medal at the 1975 World Championships and won the gold medal at the 1974 European Water Polo Championship. He retired at 36 and took up coaching 18 months later.[2]
From 1984 to 1990, he was Head Coach of Ujpest TE Sporting Club in the Hungarian National League from 1984 to 1990. Results during this period were: first in 1986, second in 1989 and third in 1987 and semi-finalist in 1986 European Cup of Champions. From 1991 to 1994, he was Head Coach of CACEL Nice Water Polo Club in the French National League in 1991. Results during this period were: first in 1992, 1993, 1994 and second in 1991.
Gorgenyi was appointed head coach of its Victorian Intensive Training Centre in 1994 and national development coach in 1996.[2] [3] He became national junior coach in 1997. On 1 June 1998, Gorgenyi, was appointed Australian women's national water polo team Head Coach and the inaugural Australian Institute of Sport women's water polo program Head Coach.[3] Gorgenyi coached the Australian team to win the inaugural women's water polo gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Gorgenyi retired in December 2004 and was replaced by Greg McFadden as National Head Coach and AIS Head Coach in January 2005.[4] In 2019, he was inducted into the Water Polo Australia Hall of Fame.[5]
Major results of the Australian team during his period as Head Coach of the Australian team:
In 2005, Gorgenyi set up a consultancy to promote his 'Hunting Territory ' philosophy - "a form of behaviour by which a player or more commonly a small group of players form ownerships of parts of the team process, often subconsciously, and, disdaining the broad collective interest, ultimately cause it to break down."[6]