Budapest, Jun 18 (IANS): Tibor Benedek, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, World and European Champion water polo player and former captain of the Hungarian men's team, died of a serious illness at 47 on Thursday, the Hungarian Water Polo Federation confirmed.

As a player, Benedek collected all possible big trophies with the national team, in addition to his three five-ring victories, he was able to celebrate World and European championship titles, World Cup and World League successes. He is a member of the Sports Hall of Fame and one of the ten three-time Olympic champions in water polo, reports Xinhua news agency.

"At dawn today, Tibor Benedek, the three-time Olympic champion, World and European champion water polo legend closed his eyes forever. He left an irreplaceable and incomprehensible void for his family, his teammates, the entire water polo society and for all his fans," the Hungarian Water Polo Association wrote on its website.

The tragic death of Benedek followed the death of another three-time Olympic water polo champion - Gyorgy Karpati, who died on Wednesday at 84.