Day 4 in Rio2016: Medal rain for Hungary

On the 9^th of August our women’s water polo team started the Games with a win against China. Epee fencer András Rédli dropped out among the best 32, Gábor Boczkó was beaten by Géza Imre in the eighth finals, who then marched into the final and won Hungary’s first silver medal in Rio. Then came Katinka Hosszú and won her 3^rd gold medal in 200 m medley, while 19-year-old Tamás Kenderesi finished in the third place in 200 m butterfly. Hungary is in the 3^rd place of the medal table after Day 4!!!

Katinka Hosszú is unbeatable in Rio. She swims imperiously and leaves everyone behind. Truth be told, the result of the 200 m medley wasn’t this obvious, because Katinka finally found an opponent, but let’s face it: currently nobody can beat her in medley. “I enjoy being here and competing here. There’s always a challenge and I love this. And the end is far away.”

The other final we were waiting for was László Cseh’s and Tamás Kenderesi’s 200 m butterfly final. If there was only one person who could win a gold in Rio then probably everyone would’ve wanted Laci to be that person. He is a very loveable person, who achieved so much in his life, but the Olympic gold medal was missing from the collection. He was very close at several times but he left to Rio in such a good shape that we all thought: this was his time.

Unfortunately it wasn’t. He lost his energy in the last 50 m and only came in in the 7^th place. It was harrowing to see. “The problem was that I felt like I wasn’t progressing in the last 50 metres, like I swam another final 10 minutes ago. It was horrible, I clearly got tired. I tried to go on but something went very wrong…I congratulate Tamás for his bronze medal and I’ll try my best in 100 m butterfly!”

What made things better was Tamás Kenderesi’s amazing run-in, which was enough for the bronze medal. He wasn’t able to beat Phelps for the third time but won Hungary’s first bronze medal in Rio. This is what he said after the final: “The last five metres were quite pinching, I was thinking about things I could do. I think my heart got me in. I am tired, I could eat a few cheese burgers…” Gotta love him!

Rio de Janeiró, 2016. augusztus 10. A bronzérmes Kenderesi Tamás a férfi 200 méteres pillangóúszás eredményhirdetésén a riói nyári olimpián a Rio de Janeiró-i Olimpiai Uszodában 2016. augusztus 9-én. MTI Fotó: Illyés Tibor

The most harrowing moment of yesterday was probably Géza Imre’s fight for the golden medal in epee fencing. Géza Imre, who became a World Champion at the age of 40 and is the oldest member of the Hungarian Olympic Team, put all his experience into this day. He was confident and had a whole country cheer for him. He led the final fencing-bout by 14:9 when something happened and he just could finish it. Nevertheless, he won a beautifully shining silver medal and he remains an icon.

Géza Imre

The Hungarian women’s water polo team started out great in Rio. They beat China by 13:11, which is a very promising start in the group phase. “In the last two and a half years we haven’t been able to beat the Chinese team, so I’m very happy for the comeback and the great start. We knew that it was going to be a tough battle. We played very well, even fantastically at times. It’s going to be harder against Spain, but I look forward to a good offensive game and a massive defence” said Coach Attila Bíró.

The biggest shock of the day was probably Dániel Gyurta’s poor performance, who didn’t even make it into the semi-finals in 200 m breaststroke. London’s gold medalist has been quite mysterious about his preparation lately, but he stated that he was focusing on his main event subordinating everything else. However, we could sense that something was wrong, a probable poor result was in the air.

Rio de Janeiro, 2016. augusztus 9. Gyurta Dániel a férfi 200 méteres mellúszás elõfutama után a riói nyári olimpián a Rio de Janeiró-i Olimpiai Uszodában 2016. augusztus 9-én. Gyurta Dániel a 17. idõt érte el, így nem jutott be az elõdöntõbe. MTI Fotó: Illyés Tibor

This is what he wrote on his official Facebook page: “Sport is unpredictable. Today, this was the best I could. I am part of the international elite since 13 years, alone in todays’ heats. I had my downturns before and I stood up. I’ll have the power to stand up again and return. This is all I can promise and I am grateful for your support which I’m gonna repay. With love: Dani

Do not forget that Hungarian athletes are out there and they all need loud cheering! I’ll be also back with the relay. GO HUNGARY!”

He is a great sportsmen who achieved a lot in his career. He is an Olympic Champion, three times World Champion, two times European Champion and several times Hungarian Champion. And this is not the end, we wish him a successful return!

RESULTS:

Men’s pair rowing, quarter-final – Bendegúz Pétervári-Molnár didn’t make it into the best 12

Men’s coxless pair, semi-final – Béla Simon and Adrián Juhász made it into final B

Women’s 25 m pistol shooting, qualification – Zsófia Csonka 10^th place, Renáta Tobai-Sike 16^th place

Men’s individual epee fencing, 2^nd round – András Rédli-Yannick Borel (France) 9:15

Men’s individual epee fencing, eighth final – Géza Imre-Gábor Boczkó 15:8

Men’s individual epee fencing, final – Géza Imre-Pak Sang Jung (South Korea) 14:15

Women’s water polo, 1^st round – China-Hungary 11:13

Men’s 81 kg judo, 1^st round – László Csoknyai-Nagasze Takanori (Japan) 0:1

Women’s Laser Radial – Mária Érdi won the 3^rd heat and finished in the 5^th place in the 4^th heat

Men’s 100 m freestyle swimming – Richárd Bohus 24^th place, Dominik Kozma 26^th place

Men’s 200 m breaststroke – Dániel Gyurta 17^th place, Dávid Horváth 30^th place