World Championship

Budapest named the European Capital of Sport for 2019 – UPDATE

hungarians cheer fina water

As Magyaridok.hu reports, the European Capitals and Cities of Sport Federation (ACES) awarded Budapest the European Capital of Sport title in 2019. This is a huge honour to the Hungarian capital which also shows that the following year is going to be oustanding in the history of Budapest.

The title of European Capital of Sport is awarded annually to a city with more than 500,000 inhabitants based on the decision of the ACES. When ACES Europe gives this recognition to a city, they always consider the principles of responsibility and ethics with prominent emphasis on the importance of sport in the everyday life of people, reports Aceseurope.eu. This means that they consider how sport helps improve the quality of life and contribute to the psycho-physical well-being of individuals.

The European Capital of Sport title is a great symbol of what sport events we can expect in the following year. Tünde Szabó, Secretary of State for Sport, calls our attention to the fact that the number of sporting events organised in Hungary has also augmented significantly.

While in 2006, 6 sporting events, in 2010, 34 sporting events took place in the country, but this number rose to 113 in 2017. To reach such great improvement in Budapest giving home to international events in recent years is only possible with appropriate sport infrastructure and high standard of tourist services. Furthermore, the stable economic background cannot be missing either.

The City Council invited the 400 most important representatives of the Hungarian sport society, including associations and policymakers as well. At the event organised to celebrate the winning of the presitigious title, the participants discussed the economic and technical opportunities made possible by this award.

It is noticeable that Hungarians are more ready to work out as a consequence of which the amount of money spent on sporting activities also augment together with the GDP. All these have a positive influence on the society by creating employment for Hungarians and contributing to a healthier lifestyle.

Featured image: facebook/ Budapest 2017 FINA Vizes Világbajnokság

Duna Aquatics Arena is the model for Paris hosting the 2024 Olympic Games

As Magyarorszagkul.nlcafe.hu reports, the Organising Committee of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games visited the Duna Aquatics Arena that was giving home to the FINA World Aquatics Championships in 2017. While preparing for setting up the new facilities for the oncoming Olympics, the French organisers stated that the Hungarian complex is the perfect example for how a modern sports establishment should look like, as it is the best competition pool in the world. Here are the details of the Committee’s visit in Hungary.

As MTI also reports, Anthony Piqueras, technical director of the Olympic Games’ Organising Committee, emphasised at the press conference during their 1-day visit in Budapest that the Duna Arena sets the perfect model for all prospective swimming pools. It is also a shining example for the French swimming arena that is going to be constructed within the framework of the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games.

As Piqueras pointed out, the Duna Arena is a great example for how a construction like this can be reused by spectators and sportspeople alike after the sport event has taken place.

Sustainability, which was in focus during the construction of the Duna Arena, is also a basic concept for the Committee who are making the necessary preparation for the Games.

Anthony Piqueras, at the press conference in Duna Arena
/MTI: Szilárd Koszticsák /

Since the construction of the swimming pool serving as the venue for sportspeople at the 2024 Olympic Games has not started yet, the French delegates were curious about how the Hungarians could set up the swimming pools so quickly that became one of the fastest constructed sports venues in the world.

Furthermore, they also wanted to figure out how the organisers executed that the building can host permanently 6,000 people, but with temporary grandstands, the number of spectators can grow to 15,000 people.

Therefore, they wanted to uncover the secret of the quick execution since, during the World Championships, they already expressed their desire to establish the Olympic venue based on the model of the Hungarian Duna Arena.

The reconstruction of the Arena has started
/MTI: Szilárd Koszticsák/
Hosting the Swimming Championships/facebook/Duna Aréna/

Balázs Fürjes, a member of the FINA World Aquatics Championships Organising Committee, reported that they hardly had two years at their disposal to set up the perfect venue while other organisers usually have 7-8 years for the construction. In spite of this, the success of the Arena is shown by the fact that it set up three records:

  • there has never been a swimming arena before that was built within 1.5 years
  • there has never been a similar case before where a year after the Olympic Games, 11 world records became set up at the World Championships
  • there has never been a construction like this before that employed around 5,000 people.

Daniel Gyurta, the Hungarian member of the International Olympic Committee, said that it was a great experience for him to swim in the Arena. He added that foreign competitors also praised the establishment and the great atmosphere where thousands of Hungarians cheered for the swimmers.

In the near future, the Duna Arena is also goint to get a prominent role as it is going to host 2 international competitions, the FINA World Junior Synchronised Swimming Championships and the World Junior Swimming Championships. 🙂

Featured image: facebook/Duna Aréna

Budapest becoming the center of water sports

Budapest will host LEN’s annual congress on 2 June 2018 due to the decision of the international organization’s assembly on Friday in Copenhagen, as M4 Sport reported. The preparations for the international event will be carried out by the Hungarian Swimming Association (MÚSZ) and BP2017 Nkft. It was the latter that hosted the professionally and economically successful FINA World Championship 2017.

LEN’s finance manager Tamás Gyárfás stated that he managed to have an agreement with president Paolo Barelli about Rome’s withdrawal. This means that LEN Büro decided on Friday in Copenhagen that it will be Budapest that hosts next year’s congress.

“We welcome everyone to Budapest”, president of MÚSZ Sándor Wladár claimed at the assembly. He was introduced by Paolo Barelli as the champion of 200-meter backstroke at the Olympics in Moscow.

Wladár added that “Hungarian water sports are in good hands, as those people manage it who have them in their genes.”

Managing director Éva Szántó and finance director Sándor Balogh represented BP2017 Nkft. in Copenhagen and they presented the plans for the congress. The event was hosted in Hotel InterContinental.

Tamás Gyárfás added, after the assembly: “The leaders of water sports loved Budapest too much because of the professional execution of the world championship and the European championships before that. I can say, with a bit of exaggeration, that we have achieved that, whenever a host is needed for an event, the first question the international association or the leadership of FINA and LEN asks: is Budapest available for the task? The competition is only initiated if the answer is no… It is an honor for everyone who took part in the preparation and execution of past years’ events.”

A whole lot of international water sports events are ready to be hosted in Hungary.

An open water world championship is due in Balatonfüred (16 June 2018) and one of the stations of the swimming world championship will also be in Hungary in late summer or early autumn. A part of the synchronized swimming World Series opens in the Duna Aréna in May, followed by the junior championship of synchronized swimmers and the men’s junior water polo world championships in Szombathely.

Open water world championships and swimming world cups seem to be recurring events. Budapest will host all the European championships (water polo in January, swimming, diving and synchronized swimming in May, open water swimming in June) in 2020. Duna Aréna will be the venue of the short course swimming world championships in 2024.

Photo: Facebook.com/dunaarenabudapest

Budapest to host World Modern Pentathlon Championships in 2019

The International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM) officially declared at its congress in Tbilisi on Sunday that Budapest has won the right to host the World Modern Pentathlon Championships in 2019 and the Laser-run World Championships to be held simultaneously.

At the same time, the 2017 UIPM Junior World Championships held in Székesfehérvár in western Hungary was declared the best-organised event among international championships, UIPM said in a statement.

Budapest hosted World Modern Pentathlon Championships in 1969, 1978, 1989 and 2008 in the past.

Featured image: Wiki Commons

Hungarians win 15 gold medals at kickboxing world championship

Hungarian contestants won 15 gold, 7 silver and 7 bronze medals in the seniors’ division of the 23rd WAKO World Kickboxing Championship held in Budapest, Origo.hu reports. The kickboxing championship was held in the BOK Hall of Budapest from 6 November to 11 November. The championship proved to be a fruitful event for Hungary’s contestants.

Péter Sárfalvi, Deputy State Secretary for Youth and Sport said during his speech at the gala closing the whole event: “Hungary is a great power in kickboxing.” His words seem to be justified by the accomplishments of the Hungarian kickboxers at the WAKO world championship.

Mórádi Zsolt proved himself to be one of the most successful kickboxers of all time, as he managed to win his tenth world championship.

Hungarian champion Zsolt Mórádi vs Irish Robbie McMenamy

One of the most successful contestants at this year’s WAKO World Kickboxing Championship was the 18-year-old Roland Veres, who won four gold trophies. Veres won in the divisions light-contact, kick-light and point fighting. He said in an interview:

“This was my dream. Even though kickboxing is not an Olympic sport, it is a huge deal to win four world championships at once, not just in Hungary, but worldwide. I aim to become Sportsman of The Year.”

A cheerful Roland Veres after his victory against Russian Rafael Aisov

Hungarian Sportspeople of the Year awards are granted each year since 1958, with categories for sportsmen, sportswomen, teams, coaches and presidents. Veres also said that one of his goals is to popularize the sport itself.

Veres was also part of the pointfighting team that also won a gold medal. Members of the winning team were: Roland Veres, Richárd Veres, Zsolt Mórádi, Krisztián Jároszkievicz, Henrietta Nagy and Anna Kondár.

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Anett Miskolczi won her first gold in kick-light and won her second gold due to the sickness of her German opponent Korkmaz who could not fight in the final. Nelly Hanicz won gold in the kick-light division. Gabriella Busa won two gold medals, one in kick-light and one in light contact.

Hungarian Gabriella Busa (winner) and Bulgarian Kristina Nikolova

In the pointfighting division, Anna Kondár, Lívia Murvai, Richárd Veres and Krisztián Jároszkievicz all won gold medals.

Antoine Habash also won a gold medal. He defended the title he won two years ago. Habash emphasized how supportive the Hungarian audience was in the BOK Hall, and he said that the audience’s cheering was a huge help for the Hungarian contestants.

István Király from the Hungarian Kickboxing Association also mentioned the amazing atmosphere the Hungarian supporters created at the event.

“Hungarian supporters created an amazing cheer in the hall, it is no wonder how many gold medals we have won.”

said István Király.

photos: MTI/Kovács Tamás

Hungary to host world military cross country championships

Daily News Hungary

The 57th world military championships in cross country running is to be held in Balatonakarattya, in western Hungary, from November 3 to 7.

The event is taking place in the park of the Hungarian Army‘s holiday resort at Lake Balaton, organisers told public television. Fully 246 competitors of 27 countries are expected to compete on a 2,300-metre track, with men covering two or five laps, and women two ones. They will face several obstacles, ranging from water-jumps and tree trunks to sand hills.

The event is organised by the International Military Sports Council (CISM).

Tímea Babos becomes the first Hungarian World Champion in tennis

Hungarian Tímea Babos and Czech Andrea Hlavácková won the women’s doubles WTA Finals held in Singapore, thus Tímea became the first Hungarian World Champion in the history of tennis.

According to nemzetisport.hu, Babos already made history when she qualified into the semi-finals, as no other Hungarian player had done that before. Andrea Temesvári made it into the quarterfinal in 1984 and 1985 (singles), just like Tímea Babos did in 2015 (women’s and mixed doubles), but Timi was the first to qualify to both the semi-final and the final.

Their opponents were the Dutch Kiki Bertens and the Swedish Johanna Larsson, who dominated the first set. But Babos and Hlavácková took over the lead in the second part of the second set, won an important break point, which resulted in winning the whole set.

Photo: MTI

Then came the super tie break, one of which the opponents had already won at the WTA Finals. However, they started out quite bad, while Hlavácková played very well at the net (3-0). Then came a minibreak and several winner points, which led to a final score of 10-5.

“We were able to turn the match around; I am very satisfied with our performance. We showed in the super tiebreak how great we were this year” said Tímea after the match.

For that matter, Tímea Babos won’t continue her career with Andrea Hlavácková. She will soon announce who’s going to be her partner from the next year.

Featured image: MTI

Tímea Babos becomes the first Hungarian World Champion in tennis

Hungarian Tímea Babos and Czech Andrea Hlavácková won the women’s doubles WTA Finals held in Singapore, thus Tímea became the first Hungarian World Champion in the history of tennis.

According to nemzetisport.hu, Babos already made history when she qualified into the semi-finals, as no other Hungarian player had done that before. Andrea Temesvári made it into the quarterfinal in 1984 and 1985 (singles), just like Tímea Babos did in 2015 (women’s and mixed doubles), but Timi was the first to qualify to both the semi-final and the final.

Their opponents were the Dutch Kiki Bertens and the Swedish Johanna Larsson, who dominated the first set. But Babos and Hlavácková took over the lead in the second part of the second set, won an important break point, which resulted in winning the whole set.

Photo: MTI

Then came the super tie break, one of which the opponents had already won at the WTA Finals. However, they started out quite bad, while Hlavácková played very well at the net (3-0). Then came a minibreak and several winner points, which led to a final score of 10-5.

“We were able to turn the match around; I am very satisfied with our performance. We showed in the super tiebreak how great we were this year” said Tímea after the match.

For that matter, Tímea Babos won’t continue her career with Andrea Hlavácková. She will soon announce who’s going to be her partner from the next year.

Featured image: MTI

Hungary in the home straight for World Athletics Championship

The plan of the new stadium

According to vg.hu, Magyar Nemzet reported on Friday that Budapest has the opportunity to organise the World Athletics Championship in 2023 after it became announced that the African countries can only apply for the 2025 Championship at the earliest.

Hamad Kalkaba Malbum, the president of the Confederation of African Athletics, announced on Wednesday that the 2023 Championship would be too early for the continent. Márton Gyulai, the General Secretary of the Hungarian Athletics Association and member of the European Athletics Association, stated that they were not surprised, because they were previously informed.

At the same time, however, the Internatinal Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) still has not made clear the requirements related to the organisation of the 2023 Championship. Márton Gyulai further added that

only after having seen the expectations can a country, like Hungary or any of the 214 member states, think over the possibility of organizing the event.

The Hungarian sports diplomat pointed out that, apart from Hungary, there is no IAAF country that yet showed interest in the event. The winner plan for the sport event has been already created, and a totally new athletic stadium would provide the venue for the occasion situated south to the Rákóczi Bridge. The Stadium, in its extended form, will be able to host 55,000 people.

Photo: atletika.hu

Ce: bm

The strongest Hungarian pensioner

According to szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu, János Fábri won a gold medal at the World Masters Powerlifting Championships held in Sweden. The 72-year-old Hungarian contestant came before the silver medallist with more than 80 kilograms.

The Hungarian Powerlifting Federation’s European and World Champion powerlifter triumphed in the 70+ category, thus winning his 6th Masters Championships.

The athletes of thirty countries competed at the competition in four categories. The 72-year-old powerlifter arrived in Sweden in a really good shape. He performed outstandingly well in the 83 kg weight-class of the 4th age group.

Photo: www.facebook.com/MagyarErőemelőSzövetség

János Fábri squatted with 170 kilograms, he finished with 110 kilograms in bench presses and with 240 kilograms in deadlifts.

Regarding the aggregated results, the Hungarian sportsman won hands down with a final score of 520 kilograms. The Swedish Kari Mattila finished in the second place with 437.5 kilograms, while the American William Weinstock won the bronze medal with 380 kilograms.

Featured image: www.facebook.com/MagyarErőemelőSzövetség

Ce: bm

Hungarian rowing team triumphing in Florida

The World Rowing Championship has begun on 23 September in Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida. The competition ended on 1 October. Two Hungarian contenders, Béla Simon and Adrián Juhász represented the country in the finals of the 2-person steering kayaks, according to Index.hu.

The duo of Simon and Juhász won a gold medal on Friday in the 2-person steering kayaks category in Florida. They were accompanied by Vanda Kolláth.

Their success can be thanked to their incredible performance on the last couple of hundreds of meters. 

It was not certain until the very end that they will win the race: they were struggling with the British and German teams at 1500 meters, while the Australian unit was far ahead of the others.

Then a miracle happened. The Hungarian team began to increase their speed at an extraordinary rate. They left the other two units behind at two hundred meters, then went for the leaders. The Australian team was running out of dash and slowing down. The rapid acceleration of the Hungarians made it possible for them to take the lead one hundred meters before the finish line.

They just managed to beat the Australians with a slight advantage. 

It was an undeniably thrilling and close contest. Béla Simon stated that it was their dream to win the competition like this.

The Hungarian team is sponsored by the Hungarian Trade and Cultural Center (HTCC). Simon and Juhász have won the European Championship last year.

The duo ranked second behind the Germans in the previous round. This result made it possible for them to proceed into the top six and participate in the finals, which they have won in a thrilling race, as Globoport.hu reported.

Photo: Facebook.com

Ce: bm

Great start for Hungary at the World Rowing Championships

Globoport.hu writes that the 2017 World Rowing Championships started last weekend in Florida. Béla Simon and Adrián Juhász qualified for the final of the men’s coxed pair event, which is a great success considering that Hungary is not particularly a rowing country.

The event is held between the 23rd of September and the 1st of October in Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida. The location is perfect for the competition as the Nathan Benderson Park was built to FISA racing standards and boasts 9 x 13.5 metre lanes with 50 metres of clear water between the west shore and the course and 27 metres between the wave attenuator and the course.

The Hungarian rowing duo is sponsored by the Hungarian Trade & Cultural Centre (HTCC). The team made it into the final with the help of pilot Vanda Kolláth.

Photo: www.globoport.hu

The Juhász & Simon duo, who won the European Championships last year in the men’s pair category, finished in the second place behind the German duo in the heat held on Tuesday, thus qualifying into the top 6. The final will be held on Friday.

Photo: www.globoport.hu

Moreover, origo.hu reports that the Balázs Fiala, Bence Tamás, Péter Csiszár and Péter Krepsics quartet is also interested in two events. The first one is the men’s quadruple sculls, is which they qualified into the semi-final, while they are automatically finalist in the men’s coxed four as only six team entered the event.

Good luck!

Featured image: www.facebook.com/WorldRowing

Ce: bm

FINA’s committees – Hungary and Spain own the most seats among the European countries

FINA published a list presenting the members of its different committees on 29 July, during the 17th FINA World Championship in Budapest and Balatonfüred. The names on this list changed in the recent days, according to the official site of FINA 2017.

The 17th FINA World Championship was a huge success from the Hungarian point of view. The local athletes were in top form: the male team’s bronze medal on 4×100 meters, László Cseh’s eighth medal, Katinka Hosszú’s third gold on 200 meters, Kristóf Milák’s or the water polo team’s silver medal were all well deserved.

Fortunately, Hungary also succeeded outside the pools.

FINA has a committee dealing with rules, organization, developing new systems and many more. It was revealed that Hungary will host the FINA European Championship in 2020 and the Short Course Swimming World Championship in 2024. It is a great honor.

LEN’s chairman Paolo Barelli argued that LEN (Ligue Européenne de Natation) member countries do not receive seats in FINA’s committees according to their results and reputation in sports. This is the reason why he called back five representatives nominated by Italy. Others did not follow his example.

Due to Barelli’s decision, Europe will be represented by 59 members in FINA committees instead of 64. America has 63, Asia has 53, Africa has 38 and Oceania has 27 representatives in the decision-making embodiments.

Hungary and Spain own the most seats among the European countries.

Moreover, Tamás Gyárfás is a member of FINA’s executive committee.

The numbers of representatives from each country are the following: The Netherlands: 6; Russia: 5; Great Britain, Germany: 4-4; Croatia, France, Switzerland: 3-3; Portugal, Romania, Turkey, Belarus: 2-2; the Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Israel, Montenegro, Sweden, Ukraine and Italy after the change: 1-1. The rest of the countries do no represent themselves in the committees.

Besides his duties in the executive embodiment, Tamás Gyárfás also took the responsibility of the FINA liaison.

The United States has 23 representatives, while Hungary and Japan has 8 each.

The Hungarian sport diplomats:

  • Dénes Kemény, vice-chairman of the Trainer Committee
  • Gergely Csurka – Media Committee
  • Dr. Béla Merkely – Medical Committee
  • Tamás Molnár – Waterpolo Committee
  • Iván Petrov – Trainer Committee
  • Dr. Ferenc Salamon – Masters Committee
  • Natalia Tarasova – Artistic Swimming Committee

Getting 8 members into the FINA committees is a huge success for Hungary’s sport diplomacy. The 17th FINA World Championship became a role model among these kind of water sports events. As the president of FINA, Dr. Julio C. Maglione stated:

“This was the best world championships of all time.” 

Ce: bm

Could Budapest host the 2023 IAAF World Athletics Championships?

Despite the growing support for an African country to host the 2023 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships, European Athletics President Svein Arne Hansen believes that Europe should be chosen instead of Africa – as it turns out from a recent article by insidethegames.biz.

The president argued that since the IAAF World Championships will take place in Doha in 2019 and Eugene (USA) in 2021, it would be Europe’s turn again in 2023. Moreover, he believes that the continent is still the centre of the sport, as it was demonstrated by the record-breaking amount of spectators at the latest championships in London.

This is where Budapest comes into the picture. As we have reported a few months ago, government commissioner Balázs Fürjes said that all sports investment projects originally planned for the 2024 Olympics would be completed in the city.

This includes the main Olympic Stadium along the banks of the River Danube, which could be the venue for the IAAF World Championships which Budapest wants to host in 2023.

Photo: www.facebook.com/IAAFWorldChampionships

However, several African countries are interested in staging the event and it is believed that Nairobi has very good chances after successfully organising the IAAF World Under-18 Championships earlier this year. An African country has never been home to the world event, while 11 out of the 16 IAAF World Championships were held in Europe.

But President Hansen is convinced that the event should be held in a European country in 2023. “As shown by the spectacular success of the recent World Championships in London, Europe is the centre of the athletics world and our athletes and fans deserve the stage that we can provide in any number of cities in 2023.”

He added that everyone in the European Athletics Association is aware of the importance of the decision. “We need to keep developing the sport here in Europe and everyone agrees the World Championships is the best tool for doing so.”

Even though the Hungarian athletics family has stars like Balázs Baji and Anita Márton who keep on making history, it’s not quite clear yet whether or not Budapest has real chances of hosting the illustrious world event.

Featured image: www.facebook.com/IAAFWorldChampionships

Ce: bm

Hungarian policewoman wins gold medal in Los Angeles

Captain Frida Tóth returned to Hungary from an international contest with a gold medal, as Szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu reported. She was the only Hungarian policewoman who has received an invitation to Police and Fire games in Crossfit category. The contest was held between 7 and 16 August in Los Angeles.

She has been working at the county police department as a technician for 20 years. Her past in sports is even longer than her career at the police.

She has been paddling for 33 years – since she was ten – as a contender, and she has won multiple national championships in Hungary. She was also ranking in the first three in the Masters World Championships.

She has attended multiple national and international Crossfit contests from 2011, ranking higher and higher each year. She was ranking among the first three in the past years.

She has received an invitation as the third best policewoman in the world—due to her past results—to the world’s most prestigous world championship for policemen and firefighters.

She was supported by the police, sponsors, friends and family alike, so she had plenty of motivation to prove herself in the USA. This encouragement was fruitful, as she was awarded with a gold medal on 15 August after two days of contesting. She has become a world champion among the policewoman.

Frida stated that she attends every contest with the certain will to win it. In order to achieve this, she trains six days per week during the preparation period. As she claimed, she was only afraid of the American opponents, as they seemed to be stronger, bigger and faster than her. Despite these disadvantages, she has finally proven to be more prepared this time.

The certain tasks of the contest are kept in secret until the beginning of the championship. 5-6 tasks need to be completed in two days, which vary from weightlifting through running to paddling.

Photo: Facebook.com

Ce: bm

The Hungarian women’s team triumphs at the World Modern Pentathlon Championships

According to nlcafe.hu, Zsófia Földházi, Tamara Alekszejev and Sarolta Kovács won the women’s team event at the 2017 World Modern Pentathlon Championships held in Cairo. Moreover, Zsófia Földházi and Róbert Kasza both won silver medals in the individual events. With these three medals, Hungary finished in third place of the medal table.

The final of the women’s individual event featured the same athletes and it started on Saturday with fencing. Zsófia Földházi did outstandingly well with a 20/15 win-loss rate, which was a good base for the other events. She finished in third place in 200 m swimming and performed well in the equestrian event as well.

Photo: www.facebook.com/HungarianModernPentathlon

Before the last event (running and shooting), Földházi was in 2nd place, Kovács in 7th and Alekszejev in 11th. Zsófia Földházi managed to keep her position, thus winning a silver medal, while Alekszejev and Kovács finished in 7th and 8th places. When it came to the team event, the three girls joined their forces and came before everyone else.

Photo: www.facebook.com/HungarianModernPentathlon

“It was a very exciting and good competition for the girls, they put their hearts and souls into it. This championship was a bit stressful for Sarolta, it was lighter for Zsófi, while Tamara ran so willingly that she almost collapsed before the finish line” said Head Coach Ákos Kállai.

Team Hungary had joyful moments in the men’s field too. 24.hu writes that Róbert Kasza won a silver medal in the men’s individual event. He started out with 24 wins and 11 losses in fencing, went on with an 8th place in swimming and a really good ride on the horse racecourse. He started the last phase from the 2nd place, which he managed to keep till the end.

Photo: www.facebook.com/HungarianModernPentathlon

Congratulations!

Featured image: www.facebook.com/HungarianModernPentathlon

ce: ZsK

Team Hungary owned the FINA World Junior Swimming Championships

This summer was centered around water sports in many ways. First, Budapest held the FINA World Championships, then our kayakers and canoers achieved amazing results at the European Championships and the World Championships. To crown this, the Hungarian junior swimmers dazzled us with their memorable performance at the FINA World Junior Swimming Championships held in Indianapolis last week.

Some members of the Hungarian junior team have already been in the spotlight for a few years, some of them introduced themselves at the elite championships, while others debuted now. We knew that the second-line was strong, but no one expected such an outstanding performance.

According to nemzetisport.hu, Team Hungary finished the FINA World Junior Swimming Championships with 16 medals – five gold, eight silver and three bronze – which put us in the fourth place of the medal table. This is incredible considering that only the USA, Canada, and Japan came before us.

The men’s 4x100m freestyle relay team (Kristóf Milák, Márton Barta, Richárd Márton and Nándor Németh) started the championships with a beautiful gold medal, which was also the first Hungarian gold medal in the history of the World Junior Championships. Previously that day, Balázs Holló won a silver medal in the 400m freestyle event.

On the second day, Nándor Németh went on by winning his second medal – a silver this time – in the final of the 200m freestyle. Ajna Késely swam the best time of her life in the final of the 800m freestyle, which meant a silver medal as well. But the happiest was probably Márton Barta who grabbed the bronze medal with a sensational tactic in the final of the 200m medley.

Ajna Késely – Photo: www.facebook.com/MagyarÚszóSzövetség

Kristóf Milák won the 100m butterfly event the next day, which made him the first Hungarian individual junior world champion. This was followed by Dávid Lakatos’ silver medal and a perfect tactic in the 800m freestyle.

Kristóf Milák – Photo: www.facebook.com/MagyarÚszóSzövetség

Ajna Késely continued to collect medals and imperiously won the final of the 400m freestyle. What happened next was unbelievable and probably the most memorable moment at the championships. The men’s 4x200m freestyle relay team (Richárd Márton, Kristóf Milák, Balázs Holló and Nándor Németh) set a new junior world record and defeated the American team with one-hundredth of a second (!).

The winner relay team – Photo: www.facebook.com/MagyarÚszóSzövetség
Golden boys – photo: www.facebook.com/MagyarÚszóSzövetség

In one of her final events, the 1500 m freestyle, Ajna Késely won a silver medal, while Kristóf Milák won a bronze medal in the 50m butterfly, and Márton Barta and Balázs Holló won a silver and bronze medal in the 400m medley.

Milák, Barta, Holló – Photo: www.facebook.com/MagyarÚszóSzövetség

Team Hungary topped everything off on the final day. Nándor Németh finished in second place in the 100m freestyle, just like Ajna Késely in the 200m freestyle. Furthermore, Kristóf Milák won the 200m butterfly event with the best result of the whole championships, thus also becoming the most successful Hungarian athlete.

Congratulations!

Featured image: www.facebook.com/MagyarÚszóSzövetség

ce: ZsK

Team Hungary rocked the 2017 Canoe Sprint World Championships

The 2017 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships was held in Racice, the Czech Republic between the 23rd and 27th of August. The Hungarian team performed outstandingly well and finished in second place of the medal table with ten medals, thus proving once again that our nation is among the leaders of the kayak-canoe field.

The Hungarian team leaders and athletes left to Racice with high hopes. Head Coach Csaba Hüttner said that even though they had won 16 medals at the European Championships, the World Championships was completely different because there were much more opponents, so he would have been satisfied with 10 medals. Little did he know that this was a perfect prediction.

According to 24.hu, the Hungarian units started out great on Saturday and won three medals. The Márk Balaska & Balázs Birkás kayak duo qualified to the final of K-2 200m with the best time. Being the European Champions, they were the most probable winners, but no one expected that they would win hands down. They left the whole field behind imperiously.

Márk Balaska and Balázs Birkás – Photo: MTI

The proud owners of the second Hungarian gold medal are Erika Medveczky and Ramóna Farkasdi, who dominated the K-2 1000m field and came before everyone else with five seconds.

Ramóna Farkasdi and Erika Medveczky – Photo: MTI

Then, the Bence Nádas & Sándor Tótka duo won the team’s first silver medal in the final of K-2 500m. It was a great battle between them and the Spanish duo, but the opponents seemed to be unstoppable. Nonetheless, the boys were thrilled.

Sándor Tótka and Bence Nádas – Photo: MTI

Our athletes continued the amazing performance on Sunday. The first medal of the day belongs to Zoltán Kammerer, Dávid Tóth, Benjámin Ceiner and Dániel Pauman, who finished in the second place in the final of K-4 1000m. This was followed by another silver medal thanks to Bence Horváth, who did great in the field of K-1 200m.

Bence Horváth – Photo: MTI

To make the medal collection full, the Hungarian athletes made sure to also win a few bronze medals. Nemzetisport.hu writes that Kincső Devecseriné Takács finished in the third place in C-1 200m, while the Jonatán Hajdu & Ádám Fekete duo spurted so well that they won a bronze medal in C-2 200m.

Jonatán Hajdu and Ádám Fekete – Photo: MTI

Then came a gold medal thanks to the Réka Hagymási & Ágnes Szabó kayak duo, who managed to come before their opponents in a tough race. The fourth Hungarian gold was won by Tamara Takács, Erika Medveczky, Krisztina Fazekas-Zur and Ninetta Vad in K-4 500m.

Réka Hagymási and Ágnes Szabó – Photo: MTI

Last but definitely not least, Dóra Bodonyi dominated the field of K-1 5000m, the longest distance of the championships. It was a neck-and-neck race between the Hungarian athlete and a German kayaker, but luckily Dóra was able to crank up the end.

Dóra Bodonyi – Photo: MTI

At one point Hungary was first on the medal table, but in the end, we finished in second place, which is incredible. Especially considering that the team won the aggregated point table 🙂

Congratulations!

Featured image: MTI – Tamara Takács, Erika Medveczky, Krisztina Fazekas-Zur, Ninetta Vad

ce: ZsK