We do not have to wait long for this year’s Olympic Games excitement to start in Tokyo. Until then, we have collected the most memorable Hungarian victories and unforgettable moments that brought tears of joy to our eyes. Goosebumps are guaranteed! 😉
Swimming
Hungary can be proud of several excellent Olympians who left their mark on swimming forever. Among Hungarian females, the most memorable moments are connected to Krisztina Egerszegi at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Ágnes Kovács at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and Katinka Hosszú, known as the Hungarian Iron Lady, who broke the world record and won a gold medal in one fell swoop at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Among males, the most touching victories were grabbed by Attila Czene at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, as well as gold-medalist Dániel Gyurta who beat the world record (2:07:28 sec) in 200m breaststroke at the 2012 London Olympics. After these historical moments, Hungarian fans celebrated with tears of joy in their eyes.
Boxing
One of the most prominent Hungarian representatives of boxing is István “Kokó” Kovács who amazed us at the Atlanta Olympics after triumphing over his Cuban opponent and winning the gold medal in 1996.
Hungarian men’s water polo team
After 24 years, the Hungarian water polo team achieved a glorious victory at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and this title was successfully defended 4 years later at the 2004 Athens Olympics. As the commentator said, this was the moment when the fresh water of the pool was mixed with the salty tears of joy of the Hungarian water polo team.
Skeet shooting
The greatest Hungarian talent of skeet shooting is Diána Igaly who had an unforgettable victory at the 2004 Sydney Olympics. With her magnificent victory, the wonderful female athlete secured her place among the most memorable Hungarian Olympic victories. In April 2021, Hungary was shaken by the tragic news that the legendary athlete passed away at age 56 from complications related to the coronavirus. As the central European country’s shooting association said in its statement “Diána Igaly was a legend of the sport”.
Wrestling
One of the most outstanding moments in wrestling was brought about by István Majoros at the Athens Olympics in 2004. The Hungarian team celebrated the glorious victory by hugging on the wrestling carpet.
Pentathlon
Zsuzsa Vörös’s achievement at the Athens Olympics in 2004 was a huge victory not only for Hungary but also for Hungarian women, as she was the first Hungarian female Olympic Champion in pentathlon.
The victorious moments can be watched in the following video:
Kayak-Canoe
“Not only the body, the soul… this is where we must be very strong” – said the commentator at one of the most memorable Hungarian victories realised by Attila Vajda at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In addition, we must mention another legendary canoer, György Kolonics, winner of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. Hungary has several excellent sportspeople in kayak as well, in which some of the most unforgettable victories were realised by Katalin Kovács and Natasa Janics at the 2008 Beijing Games, as well as Gabriella Szabó and Danuta Kozák at the 2016 Rio Games.
Gymnastics
Krisztián Berki, the Hungarian Olympic Champion won the pommel horse competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics, having defeated his British opponent with a higher execution score. Four years later, in 2016, a pommel horse element of difficulty level ‘E’ was named after him.
Fencing
Among the most prominent champions in fencing, we must mention Emese Szász who had a brilliant victory over her Italian opponent after a close fight at the 2016 Rio Olympics, thus ensuring her place among the most memorable Hungarian Olympic victories. The sport’s other talent is the Hungarian right-handed sabre fencer, three-time Olympic Champion and two-time individual Olympic Champion Áron Szilágyi, whose first glorious victory was realised in London in 2012, which was followed by another Olympic Championship four years later in Rio.
Hungarian men’s speed skating
The most outstanding Hungarian talents of the Winter Olympics are undoubtedly the Liu brothers who realised a magnificent victory in a 5,000-metre relay race at the PyeongChang Olympics in 2018.
Check out the glorious victories in this video:
Football
The Golden Team (“Aranycsapat”), also known as the team of the “Magnificent or Magical Magyars”, refers to the well-known name of the best Hungarian football team of all time, led by Ferenc Puskás, who became an emblematic figure and is still one of the best-known Hungarian football players in the world. The Hungarian Golden Team achieved one of the greatest successes in the history of football at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. After the brilliant victory, the Hungarian team’s winning series began in the upcoming years, including the world-famous “Match of the Century” in 1953: Hungary-England: 6-3.
And the list is still not over because, in addition to all these memories, we were able to experience a number of other unforgettable moments thanks to the talented Hungarian sportspeople. And many more coming soon! 🙂
Read also: Olympic Games still on in Tokyo, Japan
Source: dailynewshungary.com
