Day 7 in Rio2016: When dreams came true

What a day! The Hungarian Team grew richer with two silver and two bronze medals on the 12^th of August. They were all well-deserved by Katinka Hosszú, László Cseh, Boglárka Kapás and Anita Márton, who brought so much joy into our lives.

The Hungarian swimmers had yet another amazing day with three beautifully shining medals. In her fourth event, Katinka Hosszú was really close to win her fourth gold medal but in the end she came in second. Nevertheless, what Katinka did and does is unbelievable, and she is a true icon.

“Losing when the gold medal seems so close is always hard, but I believe that I can’t complain about this after four medals.”

Then came László Cseh, who we all rooted for so badly. And who would’ve thought that there was going to be a tie in the second place between three legends: Michael Phelps, Chad le Clos and László Cseh. Seeing them holding hands so happily was an extraordinary experience. The triumvirate of men’s butterfly. Laci can finally feel like he won a silver and didn’t lose a gold.

“That 50.39 was quite something to look up to. Before the Games I hoped to have this time but I think that the silver medal is fantastic. It’s so special that it is the three of us in a tie. It might be better to stand there alone but I’m happy to share with Chad and Michael” said the very happy Laci.

Michael Phelps, László Cseh and Chad Le Clos

This was followed by another dose of happiness thanks to Boglárka Kapás who finished in the 3^rd place of women’s 800 m freestyle. There were 10 more centimetres missing so she would’ve come in second, but it doesn’t matter, because she is totally satisfied with her result.

“The silver was only a tenth away but I don’t care about it at all, because I got what I came for and it feels fantastic. I started crying when I was coming to the interview because only then did I realize what happened. (…) I am very grateful now, thank you!” said Bogi while fighting her tears.

Boglárka Kapás

However, an even more pleasant medal can be connected to Anita Márton’s accomplishment, who finished in the 3^rd place of women’s shot put, with an amazing throw. This is a real treasure as Hungarian athletics’ medals have been quite rare at the latest Olympics, but Anita was able to continue her triumphant path after her European Championship silver medal from July.

“When it turned out that the bronze medal is mine I broke down in tears, there was so much in my head, I couldn’t believe it. Then I thought about the hard work I put into this. I worked so much in the last 15 years for a result like this!”

Anita Márton

Moreover, after three ties, the Hungarian men’s water polo team was finally able to break the ice and get the well-deserved 2 points. They knocked out Japan by 17:7 in the 4^th round of the group phase in a very convincing way. We had great actions and goal keeper Viktor Nagy was brilliant. It was almost like a gala match.

“I am satisfied because we won. No matter how good we play, the one thing that counts at the end of the day is the result on the scoreboard. Even if we play bad, we can still win. We prepared well for the match, they haven’t changed their tactics, so they couldn’t surprise us. The 17 goals says it all. Sunday’s match will be a matter of life and death” said Coach Tibor Benedek.

RESULTS:

Men’s water polo, 4^th round – Hungary-Japan 17:7

Men’s subcaliber rifle shooting, qualification – Péter Sidi 10^th place, Norber Szabián 42^nd place, they didn’t get into the final

Men’s +100 kg judo, 2^nd round – Barna Bor lost to Alex García Mendoza (Cuba)

Men’s 75 kg boxing, eighth final – Zoltán Harcsa-Arlen López (Cuba), Zoltán lost with a technical K.O.

Women’s shot put, final – Anita Márton 3^rd place

Women’s heptathlon – Györgyi Zsivoczky-Farkas is in the 10^th place and Xénia Krizsán is in the 18^th place after two events

Men’s discus throwing, qualification – Zoltán Kővágó got into the final

Men’s 20 km walking – Máté Helebrandt 28^th place

Women’s 50 m freestyle, qualification – Flóra Molnár 25^th place, she didn’t get into the semi-final

Men’s 1500 m freestyle, qualification – Kristóf Rasovszky 35^th place, Gergely Gyurta 19^th place, they didn’t get into the final

Men’s 4×100 m medley relay, qualification – Hungary (Gábor Balog, Richárd Bohus, Bence Pulai, Dániel Gyurta) 9^th place, they didn’t get into the final

Women’s 200 m backstroke, final – Katinka Hosszú 2^ndplace

Men’s 100 m butterfly, final – László Cseh 2^ndplace

Women’s 800 m freestyle, final – Boglárka Kapás 3^rd place