Hungarian International Student Athlete Finds Success at Missouri State

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Artur Osvath in the pool

International Swimmer Finds Success at Missouri State

Artur Osvath is a junior Finance and International Business major at Missouri State University. He’s also an international student from Budapest, Hungary, an All-American swimmer, 4.0 student, and Game of Thrones fan.

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Artur OsvathFollowing His Passion From Europe to the U.S.

When Artur Osvath was in high school, he was an outstanding swimmer. He knew he wanted to continue practicing the sport that he loved. He also planned to continue his studies outside Hungary, so he decided to start looking for universities in the United States.

Osvath had a friend that studied previously at Missouri State. She told him many good things about the university and the swimming team. That motivated him to reach out to the Swimming team’s Head Coach, Dave Collins, to ask for more information about the university and also to provide him some of his swimming background and records. After a series of interviews, Artur was offered a scholarship to attend to Missouri State University and be part of the swimming team and he accepted it.

Adapting to a New Country

According to Artur, Hungary’s culture is somewhat similar to the U.S. When he first arrived in the country it wasn’t a big change for him. What made the transition a bit more difficult was the language barrier. When he first got into the U.S. he mentioned felt his English wasn’t very strong and taking classes in a different language was challenging. His teammates and coaches from the swimming team were helpful. His skills were better than he thought though – Artur has maintained a 4.0 GPA every semester since his arrival.

Academic and Athletic Success

Some of Artur’s most current swimming achievements include:

  • 2016-17 All-America Honorable Mention
  • 2016-17 NCAA Qualifier
  • 2016-17 MAC gold medalist in the 200-yard individual medley, 800 freestyle relay
  • 2016-17 MAC silver medalist in the 100-yard butterfly, 400 medley relay

Artur has achieved success in his classes by achieving a 4.0 GPA every semester. Thanks to his dedication to sports and his outstanding performance in classes he has received several honors and awards. The most recent include: 

  • CSCAA Scholar All-America – 2016-2017
  • 2016-17 All-MAC First Team
  • 2016-17 Academic All-MAC Team
  • 2015-16 MAC Outstanding Freshman of the Year
  • MAC Swimmer of the Week – 11/23/15, 10/12/15, 10/13/16, 10/27/16, 1/26/17
  • MSU Athletic Director’s Honor Roll – Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017

Big Goals Ahead

We asked Artur about his plans for the future and weren’t shocked to learn he’s setting his sights high.

“My dream is to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games and represent Hungary.” – Artur Osvath

For the short-term, he plans to do an internship related to his majors over the summer.