Hungarian Heritage Review, 1988 (17. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1988-01-01 / 1. szám
======== gátéit ne jünímpegt-----A SMALL COUNTRY WITH A LOT OF CHAMPIONS: ONE YEAR BEFORE THE OLYMPICS Some 200 Hungarian athletes are preparing in 20 sports for the summer Olympics next year. Hungary has so far won 112 Olympic gold medals and was most successful at the 1952 Helsinki Games with 16 golds. The Olympic Games have always received special attention in the country. Alfred Hajos scored two gold medals (swimming: 110 m and 1,200 m freestyle) at the first modern Olympics. Hungarians bagged gold medals at all Olympics held since, except in Antwerp in 1920 and Los Angeles in 1984, where they were not present. Aladar Gerevich, who excels among the Hungarian Olympic champions carried the individual event in sabre fencing in 1948, and was a member of all Hungarian Olympic titlist sabre teams from 1932 to 1960. László Papp, the current federation manager of boxer, also has a notable list of three titles between 1948 and 1956. The first Hungarian woman to win the Olympic title, Ilona Elek, scored the gold in the foil fencing individual in 1936 and 1948, and the silver in 1952. Most recently in Moscow, Hungarians won seven gold medals: two in wrestling, one each in sports shooting, swimming, weightlifting, gymnastics and kayak-canoe. Central support is given to successful Olympic sports to increase their attraction for would-be competitors and fans. One per cent of the national income, some 9,000 million forints, is earmarked for sports every year. In the sports where qualifiers are held, two table-tennis players (Csilla Batorfi and Tibor Klampar) and the men’s handball team, which finished second at last year’s world championship, have won the right to participate in the Olympics. Depending on qualifying results, entry chances are still open for the soccer, the women’s handball, the women’s basketball and the water-polo teams. Complete teams are expected to be entered in wrestling, kayak-canoe, fencing and weightlifting and Hungarians are to also compete in judo, rowing, boxing, modern pentathlon, sports shooting, swimming, diving, gymnastics and rhythmic sports gymnastics. Entries are still uncertain in archery, cycling, tennis and sailing, due to hitherto poor results. In 1987 Hungarians fared well in the world competitions of traditionally successful sports. In kayak-canoe, one of the most successful sports for years, they collected 59 Olympic points in the Duisburg World Championships, winning two gold, five silver and two bronze medals, the modern pentathlon team became world champion, as did the women’s foil team. At the weightlifting world championships László Barsi finished first in the 82.5 kg category and at the wrestling world championships Tibor Komaromi triumphed in the 82 kg category. At the Strasbourg Swimming European Championships Tamas Darnyi carried the 200 and the 400 m medley events, and József Szabó the 200 m breaststroke, and in view of their same results at last year’s world championships, they are considered favourites for the Seoul Olympics. (ANDRAS LANTAI) 8 HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW JANUARY 1988
