Jozsef Nagy was born and raised in Hungary and may know more about the breaststroke than anyone in the world. Not surprisingly, Nagy was a breaststroker himself. He won the Hungarian Jr. National Championship in 1973 and competed for Hungary internationally. After he retired from swimming in 1976, he studied physical education at the University of Budapest and earned a prestigious Master Coach certificate. 

In 1986, Nagy moved to the United States and began coaching Mike Barrowman, the first swimmer to perfect “the wave” by channeling his power into smooth, undulating motions. Between 1988 and 1992, Barrowman dominated the 200 meter breaststroke, winning 15 of 16 major national and international competitions, and the world record he set at the Barcelona Olympic Games held for ten years. 

In addition to Barrowman, Nagy coached swimmers from four different nations to international success including, Roque Santos of the USA, Sergio Lopez of Spain, Gabriella Cespo and Norbert Rozsa of Hungary, and Canada’s Annamay Pierse. In addition to being credited with inventing the “wave action breaststroke,” Joszef Nagy has developed numerous dry land exercises and swim sets that have been widely used. 

Nagy and his family returned to Hungary where he coached the Budapest based “Team Iron” in the International Swim League. He continues to generously share and explain his ideas via articles, speeches, and lectures around the world.