Championing Mind, Body, and Spirit
Dora Kurimay was born in Budapest, Hungary, into a sports-driven family. Growing up, she was exposed to various sports, including skiing, soccer, fishing, sailing, and tennis. However, table tennis ended up becoming her passion and, ultimately, her career. At age 8, Dora started playing table tennis at the Statisztika, Budapest’s most successful women’s and girls’ table tennis club. This experience introduced her to female empowerment and allowed her to travel worldwide, meet amazing athletes, and experience different cultures.
Her father was a psychiatrist, and she learned about psychology at a young age. Dora realized the importance of the mental game while playing for the Hungarian Table Tennis National Team and began working with a sports psychologist. This helped her to become a European Champion and one of the top players in Europe under the age of 18. After her sports career, she transitioned into psychology and sports psychology, earning her first MA degree in Psychology from Eotvos Lorand University and later a scholarship to study for her second MA degree in Sport Psychology at John F. Kennedy University in California.
Throughout her life, she has lived in multiple cities and had to start from scratch each time, requiring patience and perseverance. Despite her sacrifices, Dora believes in the long-term benefits of her investments in education and views life as a continuous process of learning and growth.
Dora faced challenges in her career, such as a language barrier and transitioning from player to coach. She overcame these challenges by listening to herself and integrating her skills into her personal brand. “I balance my personal and professional life by listening to my body, meditating, exercising, and eating healthily,” she says.
Dora believes in promoting gender diversity in the workplace for improved productivity, creativity, and performance, as well as better staff retention and collaboration. She suggests creating a supportive organizational culture that prioritizes employee well-being, offers flexibility, and is committed to diversity and inclusion to attract talented women leaders. Dora has persevered through the struggles of a woman leader, including facing a male-dominated workplace, unequal recognition and pay, and balancing work and personal life while maintaining an optimistic mental mindset. She finds inspiration from her family and friends who have instilled values of service and respect and cites her parents and grandparents as her role models.
Dora is often found coaching or enjoying a cup of coffee on a typical Saturday morning. She has a love for coffee and spends her free time enjoying outdoor activities such as running, yoga, and hiking, as well as indoor pursuits like watching movies, some of her favorite ones are Matrix, Inception, and Ford v Ferrari. Dora is a committed friend and values family. To recharge, she meditates daily, visits spas, and finds peace in watching sunsets and spending time at the beach.
Dora is known for her strong self-motivating personality, as well as for being reliable and open-minded. She is disciplined, persistent, and an engaging team player. She places a strong emphasis on health in all aspects of life. However, her weakness is sometimes becoming way too focused on her goals.
She is a highly accomplished individual who has made a significant impact in both her professional and personal life. As a Hungarian National Team Member between 1996 and 1999, she achieved numerous feats, including the gold medal at the European Table Tennis Cadet Championship in 1996, recognition as an excellent student-athlete by the Hungarian government in 1997, and a silver medal at the European Table Tennis Junior Championship in 1998. She has received Hungarian American Enterprise Scholarship Fund in 2007 and a certification as a Certified Mental Performance Consultant by the Association for Applied Sport Psychology in 2017.
In 2018, Dora founded Dora Kurimay Inc. in New York City. She has achieved multiple international coaching certifications including Team Performance Coaching and International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Para Table Tennis Level 1 Coach certification. She is an established author and adjunct faculty publishing several notable books and research articles in prominent academic journals on mental toughness and performance and launching a podcast in 2022. Most recently, she won the US Open Champion in the over 30 women’s singles event in 2022 and is currently serving as the USATT Diversity and Equity Committee Chair.
Dora is passionate and has dedicated her career to supporting individuals and companies to identify and integrate the power of mental fitness to create extraordinary impactful results. Dora has provided mental fitness and stress management coaching services to Fortune 100 companies such as Exxon Mobile, and United Parcel Service (UPS) as well as to professionals, Olympians, and national-level and competitive athletes. Dora’s message to viewers: “Trust yourself, trust the process, and surround yourself with positive people who challenge you!”
She encourages practicing self-reflection and positivity, which can bring feelings of control, optimism, and energy. Finally, Dora believes that laughter is one of the best forms of therapy and encourages viewers to create opportunities to SMILE. ☺
