72-year-old sports coach is getting ready for his 7th Olympic Games

Index.hu writes that László Cseuz is done with his medical examinations and he can now actively prepare for his next big trip. The 72-year-old onetime sports coach hasn’t missed an Olympic Games since Barcelona, and he departs to Rio in July as well. This will be the 7^th Olympic Games where he goes by bicycle, and South America will be the 5^th continent he visits. He is a bit scared of the favelas but, since he already has been through a lot, he is confident that he’ll come home safely.

“What would I be doing if I wasn’t working? Exercise for 2-3 hours a day, read and that’s all?” said László Cseuz. He thinks that the life of a retired would be miserable for him. That is why he got the sport rapporteur job at Pécel two years ago. He reinvigorated the sports life in the small town. His determination hasn’t eased after four decades of coaching.

His life is a perfect example: it’s never too late to restart something. After his divorce, triathlon became his guide in life. He was 44 years old when he entered his first triathlon competition. He trained very hard and became one of the bests in his category. His daughter became his partner in triathlon and they decided to cycle to Barcelona after both of them won the county competition in 1991. And Barcelona didn’t seem to be far away.

“After three I said that I finish with Sydney. And then came Athens, which was really close, and I didn’t want to miss it” said László. This is how the Barcelona adventure turned into a series, even though their first trip wasn’t unproblematic. Once the police picked them up at the freeway, they also got lost a few times, and his daughter had an accident as well. They arrived in Szentes after a hospital rest and with 5198 kilometres in their feet. When they were asked about Atlanta they immediately said that they were going.

His partner was taken away by love and studying, so he started his way alone to Atlanta and he goes by himself ever since.

He was getting older with every Olympic Games and he wanted to compensate by setting a higher goal. He cycled 160 km/day to Barcelona, 194 km/day to Atlanta, 214 km/day to Sydney and 232 km/day to Athens at the age of 60. He could’ve has rested more but he always thought of his trips as sport achievements and he spent as much time on land as he could.

According to index.hu, he has read many negative comments on his articles about how easy it is to get to Sydney if one flies to Australia. However, he always makes sure that his trips are not too easy. For instance, when he could only fly to New York from Paris at the time of the Olympic Games in Atlanta, he cycled to Brussels before heading to Paris so that he didn’t miss those kilometres.

The longest trip was the one to Beijing, it was 11.428 kilometres long. He left more time for himself, so it took him 3 months and 144 km/day. Sightseeing never really mattered him, since travelling alone is not easy, and he always has to keep an eye on his bicycle. This is why he usually eats at gas stations.

He crossed very poor regions, but he’s never been hurt. He once met a bear, they stared at each other, but luckily the bear got bored and got away. There were supposed to be cities in every 200 kilometres in Australia, but he frequently only found gas stations. The Australian trip was also hard due to the cold summer. Also, his only serious accident happened in Australia.

He only spends on accommodation at the venue of the Olympic Games otherwise he camps and tries to look for safe spots. He keeps in touch with many of his former students who now live abroad. That makes his stays in Europe easier.

He moved to Pécel not long ago, which is 150 km away from Szentes, his home city, where he didn’t find any job for himself, because of his age. There are three things that keep him going: work, exercise and the Olympic Games.

He never used dietary supplements, he eats when he’s hungry. He claims that, if he physically prepares conscientiously, then he does everything he can. He also swims but his main form of training is cycling. Now that he is in the preparation period, he wants to cycle 10 thousand kilometres until the end of July. This means 50 km/day after work and a few hours on his training machine.

He certainly won’t bring a GPS with him. He never does. He always brings simple maps with him. He once got on the freeway because of this, but according to him it is worth the small risk. He usually knows his way, but he never knows where he’s going to end up.

He plans to pull his punches now. He sticks to 5000 km but he only plans to cycle 120-130 km/day. He cycles to Amsterdam where he gets on the plane to São Paulo, and then he cycles to Rio and back. He won’t stay for long in Brazil because accommodation is very expensive during the Olympic Games. He will have four days at the Olympics; he definitely wants to cheer for the pentathlonists.

What comes after Brazil? “The mayor said that I’ll always have a place here, until he is here. I don’t live high, what else would I spend money on? I’ll be 76 years old at the time of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, if I’ll even be. If otherwise not, I’ll go as a tourist. What’s important is to always have a long-term plan.”

Photos: www.facebook.com/laszlo.cseuz

Copy editor: bm

Source: http://index.hu/kerekagy/