Active Hungarian athletes who are world-famous in their sport

Although Puskás no longer plays football, and Hungary is one of the smaller countries, we still have many athletes who are world-famous and play their own sport at the best level.

Katinka Hosszú
She is the one and only Iron Lady. It is difficult to list what she has gained in the field of swimming. She is a three-time Olympic, nine-time World Champion and fourteen-time European Champion swimmer. The first competitor to hold the world record in all five mixed swim numbers at the same time (200m, 400m, short course: 100m, 200m, 400m). She was the female athlete of the year seven times in Hungary, three times she became the best female athlete in Europe. In 2017, Forbes chose her as the 7th most influential Hungarian woman. She believes that the best preparation for big competitions is to participate in smaller competitions. Her professionalism and attitude are exemplary.

Shaolin Sándor Liu
Shaolin Sándor Liu is a Hungarian Olympic champion short track speed skater. He was born to a Chinese father and a Hungarian mother and started the sport in 2006. He swam with his brother Shaoang for two years, then changed to short track speed skating. They moved to China and trained there for one and a half year. After returning, they began to win various minor competitions in Europe.  Shaolin represented Hungary at the 2014 Winter Olympics. The real breakthrough came in 2018. He finished in the fifth position at the 2018 Winter Olympics in the men’s  1500m event. Then, as a member of the relay (Liu Shaoang, Viktor Knoch, Csaba Burján) he won the 5000 meter gold medal, which was also Hungary’s first-ever Winter Olympics title.

Szoboszlai Dominik
Lately, when it comes to Hungarian football, both the Hungarian and international sports press either deal with the entry of Ferencváros into the Champions League or the fantastic performance of Dominik Szoboszlai. In 2017, he moved to Salzburg for the Liefering team in the Austrian second division. In January 2018, he was able to start preparing with the Salzburg team and was soon stuck there. He made his Champions League debut in September 2019 and scored his first goal against Genk. He finished the season with nine goals and 19 assists in 27 league matches and was voted player of the season for 2019-20 in Austrian football’s top tier, the Bundesliga. He is an important member of the Hungarian national team. He is only 20 years old, but he has already shown his talent and dedication. He is not only in Hungarian spotlight. UEFA has also been replaced by several on its list of the most talented young footballers.

Anita Görbicz
Anita Görbicz is a handballer for Győri Audi ETO KC. She is a 233-time national team player who retired from the national team in 2017 but still plays for Győr. She was voted World Handball Player of the Year 2005 by International Handball Federation. She won a silver medal with the Hungarian national team in 2003 and a bronze medal in 2005 at the World Championships. With her club team, Győri Audi ETO, she is a 13-time Hungarian champion, and a 14-time Hungarian Cup winner, she was also able to raise the trophy of the most prestigious EHF Champions League five times. In October 2020, she scored her 1000th goal in the Champions League series. Görbicz has been internationally called the Queen of Handball.

Norbert Michelisz
Norbert Michelisz is a Hungarian auto racing driver. He was the first Hungarian participant at the World Touring Car Championship. In his early career, he won the 2006 Hungarian Suzuki Swift cup and the Hungarian Renault Clio Cup in 2007. In 2010 he completed his first full season with SEAT León TDI in Zengő-Dension Team in the WTCC. On 18 November 2012, he won the Yokohama Trophy (Independent Championship) with Zengő Motorsport Team, achieving the most significant victory in the history of Hungarian motor racing. In 2019, he continued his career with BRC Racing Team and Hyundai. At the end of the season in a thrilling final, he was crowned Word Touring Car Cup champion.