Historic Hungarian victory: sprinter reclaims European Championship title after 40 years – Video

Sprinter Attila Molnár won the men’s 400m with a fantastic run of 45.25 seconds on Saturday at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn, thus winning the 17th Hungarian gold medal at the European Indoor Championships.

According to Atletika.hu, the FTC sprinter arrived in the Netherlands as the favourite and European leader. On Friday, he showed his class in both the heats and semi-finals, winning both his heats easily, the latter in a superb time of 45.48 seconds, the best of the field.

However, it was not only the time and win that was very encouraging ahead of the final, but also the fact that Molnár said he ran with ease and felt he could do a time under 45 seconds based on his form. In the final, Poland’s Maksymilian Szwed seemed to be his main challenger, winning both his races, both with times within 46 seconds (45.69 seconds, 45.78 seconds).

Molnár started from the furthest six, while the Pole got the fifth place, so after the start, he could see the Hungarian runner in front of him all the way through the first lap, and he said on Friday that the notch at the end of the 200m would be crucial and he would do his best to turn into the final lap in first place.

Accordingly, he ran the first two corners at a tremendous pace and took a clear and unchallenged lead into the finish straight. From there, he confidently led the field until the last corner, but his muscles were visibly acidic going into the home straight. The Polish sprinter ran into him but could not overtake him.

Sprinter Attila Molnár won the Hungarian delegation’s first medal in Apeldoorn and the first adult medal of his career at an adult world competition. This is the 60th podium finish for Hungarian athletics and the 17th gold medal at the European Indoor Championships.

As we wrote earlier, Budapest is poised to host a major world sporting event in 2026, details HERE.