Béla Komjádi was a Hungarian water polo

Water polo

Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...

 player and coach.

Water polo coaching career

In 1928, he invented the then-revolutionary "air pass" or "dry pass", whereby a player immediately passes a ball through the air to a teammate, who obtains it without the ball hitting the water.

He coached the Hungary men's national water polo team

Hungary men's national water polo team

The Hungary men's national water polo team represents Hungary in international men's water polo competitions and is controlled by Hungarian Water Polo Association. They are considered the world's top power in the history of water polo, having won 15 Olympic, 9 World Championship, 5 FINA World...

, and his Hungarian water polo teams won five gold medals at Olympic Games

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

. They also won the 1932 world championship, and the 1926, 1927, and 1931 European Championships.

He died in 1933, while playing water polo, at the age of 41.

In 1976, a new Olympic swimming pool on the Buda

Buda

For detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's...

 bank in Budapest

Budapest

Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

 was named the Bela Komjadi Pool, after him.

Halls of Fame

He was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame

International Swimming Hall of Fame

The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of swimming in the United States and around...

, and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame

International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame

The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame was opened July 7, 1981, in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around the world....

.