Rio2016

All the way from Baja to Rio, on bike!

Szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu shares an interesting story: an enthusiastic coach promised to travel to Rio from Baja by bike, provided a sportsman of his sports club makes it to the Olympic Games. Now guess what, the sportsman did make it, so the coach had to kick off his journey.

Miklós Borbély, manager of the Mogyi SE Baja sports club made a promise of riding a bike on the way to Rio from Baja, in case Gábor Faldum manages to get qualified to the 2016 Olympic Games. Faldum is a member of the Hungarian national team, regarded to be its best triathlete, and luckily achieved the results necessary for the Olympic qualification.

Now, as he succeeded in doing so, Borbély and his two partners had to travel to the hosting city of the Olympics on bicycles. On his journey, which kicked off on the 20^th of June, the 46-year old Borbély was accompanied by Zoltán Németh and Balázs Barta. Notably, Borbély had previously done Olympic rides, in 1992, to the Olympic Games in Barcelona, and to the 1996 Olympics held in Atlanta.

Németh, aged 54, is a PE teacher and ultramarathon runner, who has done the Spartatlon race in Greece twice; while the third adventurer, the 16-year old Barta is also a triathlete of the Baja team. The trio’s European biking destination was Lisbon, where they planned to change the two-wheeled vehicle to a plane.

But before that, the road started, of course, in Hungary, from were they rode to Croatia, then to Slovenia and Austria, after which they arrived in Italy. After passing the Lago di Braies, they crossed the Dolomites, included Lake Garda, and went across Northern Italy. Then, at Geneva, the bikers reached the shores of the Ligurian Sea.

They even had the energy to do a small competition, in honour of the Milan-San Remo bike race, which ended with the victory of Barta, winning the polka dot jersey. However, after all the fun, following the French Riviera, the Cote d’Azur, Monaco, Nice and Marseilles, they got into trouble.

Németh had his bike, passport, mobile, bank card, and all of his cash stolen from him in Martigues. Therefore, he was thinking about giving up the adventure, but people came to his rescue and sent him some money, so he could buy all the equipment he needed to carry on with the journey.

Also, the Hungarian consulate in Marseilles helped him with getting a new passport, thus, after two days they could resume their travels. Then, after Barcelona, Aragon, and Castile, the trio finally arrived in Lisbon.

Furthermore, at the end of the adventurous journey to Rio de Janeiro from Baja, Németh shared a post on Facebook, expressing his gratefulness toward all those who helped him in making it to Lisbon. Also, he mentions what a great experience it was, and that they fulfilled the journey’s sporting part.

But then comes an unfortunate turn of events, as he writes that the vacation and the rooting will not happen in Rio, because Barta got into the hospital of Lisbon, from where he was released on July 25. After that, the team took the night flight back to Hungary, and Barta got under therapy. He was getting better, felt fine, but his CBC made the doctors decide to carry out further medical examinations.

Photos: bacskaisport.hu

Copy editor: bm

August 3, 2016

RIO2016 – Hungarians have to stay up all night because of the Americans

MNO.hu reports the latest news about the Olympic broadcasts: the American NBC is paying an insanely lot of money for the broadcast rights, therefore, the programme schedule rather depends on the American market. Which means that the people of Europe, including Hungary, have to carry out some changes in their lifestyles in order to be able to watch the events of the 2016 Olympic Games live.

As usual, people, especially the great fans of sports go quite crazy about the Olympic Games, understandably, of course. Sometimes they have to get up really early or stay up all night to root for their fellow patriots. This time, it seems that the favour is on the night owls, for several Hungarian-related sports’ events and finals will be broadcasted before daybreak in Hungary.

Furthermore, the broadcasting programmes are overwhelmingly scheduled according to the routines and needs of the certain continent’s people, but for a while now the competitions’ schedule is decided by the program schedule of the NBC. You may wonder why and how come that one channel can have such a huge impact, well, it is because huge crowds of people are moved by sporting events in the USA, populated by nearly 320 million.

They get really excited and interested, and follow the events both live and in front of the telly; for instance, when Hungary’s water polo team played against the Americans back at the 2008 Olympics, an unprecedented number of people in America watched the water polo match, meaning a great advertisement for this field of sports.

Plus, the NBC impressively paid an amount of 7.75 billion USD broadcasting fee to the International Olympic Committee. Such an amount of money could never have been paid by European public television, hence the Americans have been having the major say in the schedule, right until 2032, according to the contract. Also, the Rio Olympics will be the tenth Games in the USA that is broadcasted by the NBC since 1964.

Moreover, ever since the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988 their right to the broadcast is uninterrupted, and previously the London Olympics of 2012 meant a great milestone: 219 million people followed the events through NBC. The channel, thus, broke the record: the London Olympic Games became the most watched world competition ever, followed by the Beijing Summer Olympics. The site, therefore, suggests that the channel is pretty much going to compete with itself.

Unlike at the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014, this time the IOC came to terms with the European Broadcasting Union, and agreed with the public TVs through them. Here, in Hungary, the MTVA made an exclusive agreement on the broadcasting of the Olympics: they paid 2 million EUR to the IOC, meaning that Hungarians will have the opportunity to watch the events on channels M4 and M5 only. A crew of 54 people will be working in each location, though, there will be not studio built in Rio.

Therefore, it is now certain that the Hungarian TV audience will have to stay up late in the night, 11-12 pm, to watch, for example, Emese Szász, epée fencer, and Éva Csernoviczki, judoka, competing at the Olympics. Whereas, everyone interested in the 400m medley swimming would need to set an alarm for quite an early time: Gergely Gyurta and Dávid Verrasztó will be found in the pool at around 3am, while Katinka Hosszú and Zsuzsanna Jakabos will start swimming at about sunrise. All of the semi-finals and finals of swimming will be held at 3-5am, August 7-14.

Also, fans of ping-pong will need to sleep well before match days, as Petra Lovas and Georgina Póta will play at 11-3am. The pugilists, Balázs Bacskai and Zoltán Harcsa would have matches after midnight provided they qualify to the best four. Besides, Áron Szilágyi, London’s Olympic Champion of fencing will make us all root for him in front of the telly casually at 3am. Same as the shotput events featuring the European Champion, Anita Márton competing at around 3am, on August 13.

The water polo match of Hungary v. Australia will be held at 1.50am, just like the further ones against Japan and Brazil. The wrestlers will start their fights at about 9pm and by midnight, all groups will have finished fighting. Therefore, it is advised that everyone starts preparing for the new routine of going to bed late and getting up early, which is going to be necessary for being able to root for the Hungarian sportspeople.

Medals are expected in the fields of swimming, water polo, judo, fencing, wrestling and shotput. Make sure not to miss the great excitements of the big events of the Rio Olympic Games and have your fingers crossed for the Hungarians, because, you know, it happens only once in 4 years. Wish all the best luck to the team, and all the fun for the audience watching the Games!

Copy editor: bm

July 31, 2016

Hungary’s Rio gold medalists to receive EUR 111,800 in prize money

Budapest, July 28 (MTI) – Hungarian Olympic athletes who bring home a gold medal from Rio de Janeiro will receive 35 million forints (EUR 111,800) in prize money from the state, the tabloid Bors said on Thursday.

Silver medalists will get 25 million forints and bronze medalists 20 million, the paper said.

Athletes who place within the top eight will all receive cash bonuses with 7th place finishers getting 4 million and those finishing eighth getting 2 million forints.

This means prize money allocations this year will remain unchanged from 2012, Bors said.

The paper said that while in the past, athletes were awarded prize money only for their three best results, Olympians in Rio will be awarded for all of their results.

July 28, 2016

Hungary’s team for Rio2016: 158 sportspeople registered by the Hungarian Olympic Committee

According to hosszabbitas.hu, the Hungarian Olympic Committee (HOC) sent the entry of 158 (157+1 backup) Hungarian sportswomen and sportsmen to the organisers of the Rio Olympic Games. Let’s see who we can root for in just a few weeks!

Hungary will be represented in 21 branches of sport by 93 sportsmen and 65 sportswomen. With the sport experts – the team leaders, trainers, coaches, doctors, masseurs, technical staff, delegation leaders and the members of the team office – this number exceeds 300.

“Besides the observance of the competition programme, with the effective utilisation and change of accreditation, they ‘won’t even have five minutes of rest’ and this is how we were able to expand the delegation. The HOC brings 294 people, while federations cover the costs of 25-30 sport experts, with HOC’s coordination, of course” said Team Leader László Fábián.

Hungarians will compete in 21 sport branches in Rio: athletics, badminton, boxing, cycling (mountain bike), diving, fencing, gymnastics, judo, kayak-canoe, pentathlon, rowing, sailing, shooting, surfing, swimming, table tennis, tennis, triathlon, water polo, weight-lifting, wrestling.

Some members of the team leading and the team office are already flying to Rio this weekend to prepare the arrival and the accommodation of the delegation. The majority of the Hungarian team will leave to Rio on the 30^th of July with a direct charter flight.

Rio2016 – Fourteen-year-old swimmer Ajna Késely is the youngest member of the Hungarian Olympic team

Fourteen-year-old swimmer Ajna Késely, the athlete of Kőbánya Swimming Club is the youngest member of the 2016 Hungarian Olympic team.

The talented young athlete’s spectacular results even attracted five-time Olympic champion swimmer Krisztina Egerszegi’s attention.

The young athlete trains very hard, which earned her a place in the Hungarian Olympic team.

The fact that I’m the youngest member of the Hungarian Olympic team is only a statistical curiosity said Ajna to Sporthír Telekom-Service. To me, the most important thing is to do well in the swimming pool, and break my individual records.

Shortly after the April national championship I got a bit uncertain about my competency, but soon after, I managed to rebuild myself physically and mentally said the young athlete. I am looking forward my first Olympics, while my thoughts have already started wandering around the 2017 World Cup, which will be held next year in Budapest. Now, I really understand the usefulness of the course I took on mental control some time ago; this helps me a lot to focus on important moments of upcoming events.

Photo: MTI

July 20, 2016

Rio2016 – The team of Hungarian kayak and canoe rowers is ready to compete in Rio at the Olympics

The Hungarian Canoe Federation accepted the suggestions of head coach Botond Storcz on Monday, July 18, thus the ultimate line-up of the Hungarian Olympic team of kayak and canoe could be listed by origo.hu. The Hungarian national team will send 15+3 competitors to Rio, of whom everyone will compete at the Olympic Games, starting on August 5.

In London, four years ago, the Hungarian national team lined up 13 competitors, though, back then the Hungarians did not participate in three events. This time however, the Olympic team consists of 15 competitors and three backups.

The head coach told the site that he would expect every unit to qualify to the finals, and the team to get at least five medals. Also, according to him, the prospects are great, for every event will include Hungarians, which is a great improvement compared to the London Games, because there were fewer Hungarians competing in fewer events at the time.

However, some changes had to be made regarding the competitors just recently, because Bence Dombvári – who won the domestic qualifiers for two events – was caught at the doping test. Still, the final units and pairs and the backups were chosen, based on their results, at the sorting last Thursday.

Instead of Dombovári the 19-year old promising talent, Bálint Kopasz will compete in K-1 1000m, whereas in K-2 1000m Benjámin Ceiner was chosen to replace Dombovári to row aside Tibor Hufnágel in Rio next month.

Let us see then, what the line-up looks like:

The men’s team include:

K-1 1000m: Bálint Kopasz

K-2 1000m: Tibor Hufnágel and Benjámin Ceiner

K-4 1000m: the abovementioned Hufnágel and Ceiner, Attila Kugler and Tamár Somorácz

K-1 200m: Bence Horváth

K-2 200m: Horváth and Máté Szomolányi

C-1 1000m: Henrik Vasbányai

C-2 1000m: Vasbányai and Róbert Mike

C-1 200m: Jonatán Hajdu

backups: Balázs Birkás for kayak and Tamás Kiss for canoe

The women’s team consists of:

K-1 500m: Danuta Kozák

K-2 500m: Kozák and Gabriella Szabó

K-4 500m: Szabó, Kozák, Tamara Csipes and Krisztina Fazekas-Zur

K-1 200m: Natasa Dusev-Janics

backup for kayak: Anna Kárász

Photo: MTI/EPA/Szergej Ilnyickij

Copy editor: bm

July 19, 2016

Fantastic results and Hungarian successes at the Gyulai Memorial – Photos

Origo.hu writes that Balázs Baji won the 110 m hurdles with a great time, while Zoltán Kővágó finished in the first place of discus-throw with his best time of the year at the Gyulai István Memorial Hungarian Athletics Grand Prize last Monday. Also, the world record keeper David Rudisha won men’s 800 metres with the world’s best time in this year.

Women’s shot-put was followed by men’s discus-throw, and you could already tell after the first round that Zoltán Kővágó, who finished in the 6^th place one and a half weeks ago at the European Championships, came to Székesfehérvár in a great shape. The silver medallist of the Athens Olympic Games already reached 64 metres at his first try. In the second round he secured his leading position with 67.13 metres, which nobody could get close to.

“This was my best throw of the year at a very important competition, so I am very satisfied. We were preparing hard for this and I tried to do all that I could” said the winner discus-thrower.

The N°1 favourite of men’s 110 m hurdles was this year’s world ranking leader, the Jamaican Omar McLeod, who made some mistakes after the start and then fell. All this didn’t bother the fresh European silver medallist Balázs Baji running near him, who even though kicked some hurdles, ran in a good tempo and won securely with a great time of 13.33 seconds.

“The audience was amazing and I just ran as fast as I could. I’m happy for the win and I am pleased with my time as well” said Balázs and added that he can surely better his shape until Rio, so he is preparing with high hopes.

The biggest star of the Gyulai Memorial, David Rudisha, promised that he would try to reach the world’s best time of the year at the 800 metres race of the competition. The Kenyan Olympic Champion and world record keeper didn’t disappoint the audience, he ran impressively and won confidently with 1:43.35 minutes, the best time of 2016.

Men’s high jump brought about a very exciting battle between the Bahaman World Champion Donald Thomas and the Ukrainian World Champion Bohdan Bondarenko. Thomas got through 2.33 metres at the third try, then Bondarenko answered with 2.35 metres, but the Bahaman also got through 2.37 metres at the third try. After this, the Ukrainian tried 2.39 metres but he didn’t succeed and signalled that he finished the fight. Thomas, who already won, tried 2.41 metres but couldn’t get through.

The Olympic title defender Kirani James confidently won the 400 metres race with 44.60. Further excellent results were ensured by the two times Olympic Champion Veronica Campbell-Brown in women’s 200 metres (22.52) and the South African Akani Simbine in men’s 100 metres (20.16).

Tianna Barteletta (right) and Morolake Akinosun (left)

Photos: MTI

Copy editor: bm

July 19, 2016

Hungary’s anthem for Rio 2016 came out – VIDEO

Nemzetisport.hu writes that Hungary’s anthem for the Rio Olympic Games has officially debuted. The heartening song titled Halhatatlanok (Immortals) was written by the popular Hungarian rapper, Deniz, in honour of the Hungarian Olympians and Paralympians.

He also performed the song in the Palace of Arts at the Olympic vow ceremony. “Performing in Müpa was incredible, the atmosphere was very familiar and the whole event was of high standard” told Deniz mob.hu and added that Olympians, Paralympians, and former champions took part in the making of the video clip.

“A few sportsmen contacted me last year asking if I would write an anthem for their branch of sport as they think that my work is very motivating. There are no others songs similar to Halhatatlanok in Hungary. I tried to put myself into the place of sportsmen, this is why the lyrics is in 1^st person singular. It’s an honour that Olympians and former champions put their name to the song and that we shot together.”

The rapper also said that the shooting went smoothly as everyone was very helpful. “I asked the Olympians to bring with them a personal object and they were all happy to do so. There were everything from wooden canoe to hunting horn and Olympic gold medals.”

Our Olympic champion swimmer Dániel Gyurta is always happy for initiations like this, which strengthen the unity of Hungarian sportsmen and brings the idea of the Olympic Games closer to people. “A song like this is a good, inspiring medium for youngsters to watch the Games and cheer for Hungarians and the success of the 2024 Olympic bid.”

The aim of Deniz was to get the song to all Hungarians all over the world. “If I can contribute to the success of our Olympians even a tiny bit, I will be a very happy person” added Deniz.

July 14, 2016

Rio2016 – Olympic champion Áron Szilágyi will carry the Hungarian flag in Rio

Although qualifications have not finished, as of yet, 162 Hungarian athletes will compete in 20 sports at the Rio Olympics. 2012 Olympic champion sabre fencer Áron Szilágyi has been chosen to lead the Hungarian delegation at the opening ceremony, index.hu reports.

“This is a huge honour. I already know that the ceremony will be just as memorable for me as the time when, at 22, I stood on the highest step of the podium in London,” Szilágyi said.

Even though he is only 26 years old, Áron Szilágyi is preparing for his third Olympics, now with the additional burden of being the defending champion. In the past one and a half years, Szilágyi has traveled all over the world from training camps to competitions. He was in Rio de Janeiro for the World Championship in April this year, after which he competed at the European Championship where he came 6^th. He is currently training in a high-altitude training camp in Austria, and thus could not attend the oath taking ceremony in Budapest.

“I’ve come a long way, but in hindsight, it was all worth it. I managed to collect the necessary points, and I also met and fought all my future Olympic opponents. I’ve been to Japan, Korea, China, I spent two weeks training with German fencers, so I could brush up on my database on the other athletes. I was trying to get to know them, figure out their fighting techniques, and draw conclusions on their strategies of attack,” he said.

“Obviously they did not reveal all their secrets, but I still learned a lot. To the question of whether they’ve managed to figure me out too, my answer is: just as much as I’ve let them. The world of sabre fencing is not big enough for something to be kept a secret for long, but it is better to anticipate things than to face unexpected challenges in the middle of the competition,” said Szilágyi.

In a few days, Szilágyi’s pre-Olympics preparations begin in earnest, and he will spend this period with the small circle of his crew alone.

“I’ve chosen Telki [a village near Budapest], where the training facility of the Hungarian national football team is. I have been there and it made a great impression. I feel honoured that Bernd Storck, the coach of the team gave his consent, and that he was happy about my choice,” said Áron Szilágyi.

The first athletes fly to Rio on July 30, while the so called golden flight will arrive back home on August 24.

Photos: MTI

Copy editor: bm

July 9, 2016

Torch run for the 2024 Budapest Olympics

Szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu writes that a torch run is organized in the heart of Budapest in order to support the idea of hosting the Olympic Games in Hungary, in 2024. The first 3000 people to register will be able to run the 2024m lap of honour.

An extraordinary sporting event is held on June 22: in honour of the Olympic Day a torch run is organized at the coast of the Danube on the Pest side. The event is going to happen in the evening, when it is all lighted up. Resembling a festival, music and sporting events will entertain the visitors at the same time, yet, the main spectacle will be reminding everyone about Budapest being a candidate city for hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics.

That will be nothing other than a torch run of 2024 metres in the heart of the capital at 9:30 pm, June 22. The organizers prepare modern torches, that is, lightning rods, bracelets and other bright things. The shining set will start off at the Margaret Bridge on the Pest side and their route will include the gorgeously lighted Parliament, the Chain Bridge, the Buda Castle and the Liberty Statue, to make sure everyone gets stunned by the end of the run.

The participants of the night run will all receive a medal and may recall the memorable moments of the event together. Importantly, registration for the run is free of charge, and the first 3000 people to successfully register will have the opportunity to take on their running shoes and fulfill the Budapest 2024 lap of honour to celebrate the Olympic Games.

The organizers encourage everyone to join the event and support the application of Hungary, for hosting the Olympics, together. Besides, it will be recorded, therefore, all kinds of illuminated accessories, torches and headlights can be brought. The aim is to light up Budapest in the night as much as possible.

Moreover, spectators to root for the runners, supporting Hungarian sports are welcomed at the event as well: there are several programmes that will make sure that the visitors have a great time. For instance, the Hungary-Portugal match of EURO2016 will be streamed at a huge screen from 6pm on the Pest side of the Margaret Bridge.

Later a Hungarian musician, Deniz gets in charge of entertaining the people from 8pm, also debuting his song called Halhatatlanok (Immortals), which was written in honour of the Olympians. Deniz’s concert will be followed by the inevitable and important warm-up, led by Réka Rubint, and then the running shall start.

Further information with the platform of registering shall be found on the site of the event.

Copy editor: bm

June 19, 2016

Great success: Hungarian badminton player, Laura Sárosi to compete in Rio

Szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu writes that the Hungarian badminton player was defeated on the qualifying match due to her unselfishness but luckily, as justice would have it, she now finished on the world ranking list in a place that is worth a quota to Rio.

Laura Sárosi’s story went around the internet in the beginning of May, when she lent her backup shoes to her German opponent, who in the end beat Laura on the qualifying match. Many people were afraid that she won’t be able to compete in Rio. Even the Germans campaigned for Laura, who was celebrated as a hero, and the sport community formed a league for her.

This is what Badminton Bluffers wrote about her generous act: “Sarosi went to her bag, took out her spare shoes which happened to be the same size as Schnaase’s and in a moment of utmost humility and soul handed the shoes to her opponent so she could carry on playing. (…) Sarosi is badminton and what she did will now be my explanation as to why I love the sport and why I believe badminton is the greatest sport on the planet. I doubt anyone I talk to will be able to disagree or even put up an argument as to why I may be wrong as there is no greater sacrifice and no greater act of sportsmanship than what badminton’s Laura Sarosi did on Wednesday in France.”

A few days ago it turned out that she will be able to attend the Olympic Games in Rio this August as she finished in a quota-worth place on the world ranking list of female badminton players. This means that we’ll be able to cheer for a Hungarian badminton player at the Games after 20 years!

József Csorba, the president of the Hungarian Badminton Federation added that Laura Sárosi is going to Rio with a subjective right, not a wild card. So the sportswoman didn’t only deserve the participation with her exemplary moral act, but also her great achievements. The last time a Hungarian badminton player participated on an Olympic Games was in 1996 by Andrea Ódor.

Congratulations and the best of luck to Laura!

Photos: www.facebook.com/LauraSarosi

Copy editor: bm

May 17, 2016

Water polo – Rio match schedule announced

FINA has announced the official schedule for the aquatic sports events at this summer’s Rio Olympics. Both the men’s and women’s teams start of at 09:00am local time.

The official match schedule is available on the FINA website, alongside that of all other aquatic sports such as the diving, synchronised swimming and swimming events.

The Olympic water polo competition begins on 6th August, at 2 o’clock in the afternoon CET with Hungary contesting the opening match with Serbia in the men’s event.

Two days later it’s a night-time game against Australia which starts at 1:50 am, just as the fourth game, which his against Japan does.

The women’s team also start at 2 o’clock in the afternoon Hungarian time against China.

The men’s final is at 22:50 in the evening on 20th August, the women’s final is at 20:30 in the evening on the 19th.

Men’s group matches:

Saturday 6th August:

Serbia – Hungary – 09:00 local time (Hungarian time: 14:00)

Monday 8th August:

Hungary – Australia – 20:50 (Hungarian time: 9th August 01:50)

Wednesday 10th August:

Greece – Hungary – 10:20 (Hungarian time: 15:20)

Friday 12th August:

Hungary – Japan – 20:50 (Hungarian time: 13th August 01:50)

Sunday 14th August:

Brazil – Hungary – 20:50 (Hungarian time: 14th August 01:50)

Men’s final: 20th August – 17:50 (Hungarian time: 22:50)

Women’s group matches:

Tuesday 9th August:

Hungary – China – 09:00 (Hungarian time: 14:00)

Thursday 11th August:

Spain – Hungary – 13:00 (Hungarian time: 18.00)

Saturday 13th August:

Hungary – USA – 13.00 (Hungarian time: 18.00)

Women’s final: 19th August – 15:30 (Hungarian time: 20:30)

Photo: MTI

May 15, 2016

A Hungarian sportswoman is celebrated for her helpfulness

Laura Sárosi handed over her own spare shoes to her opponent, who then won the game, writes szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu.

The Hungarian badminton player, Laura Sárosi showed what fair play truly was, her humane action astonished the world, which now celebrates her as a hero. She had a really important game at the European Championships, she played to get qualified to the Olympics in Rio, as winning at such a Championship would give many points to the victor, more than other competitions.

Her opponent was Karin Schnaase in the second round of the Champs, a German competitor, who got into an unexpected situation. Schnaase’s shoes broke during the match, and she did not have spare ones, so she could not continue the match (according to rules, there was no option for her to leave the court and get new shoes somehow). If it were not for the Hungarian player!

Laura Sárosi could have easily gained victory simply by just waiting, but, instead, she acted as a true sportswoman when she lent her own spare shoes to Schnaase, thus, making her able to continue the game, which actually ended with the German’s victory. However, Sárosi is celebrated among sportspeople for her selfless and beautiful act.

According to hvg.hu, the German Badminton Association will support Sárosi to get a wild card entry to the Olympics, which she would truly deserve for helping her opponent in finishing the game. President of the Hungarian Badminton Association, József Csorba expressed his hopes towards the decision of the International Association, that can give away three wild cards.

Csorba said Sárosi will be on top of the world list of applicants for the wild card, and he really believes she should get one, for she proved what an amazing sportswoman she was and also called attention to the sport itself. Her help meant a lot in getting acceptance and recognition for badminton, which was also in a complete harmony with the basic concept of the Olympics.

The wild card is the only remaining opportunity for Sárosi to get to Rio, as she lost the match against Schnaase and the Estonian Kati Tolmoff won against Olga Konon by which she got ahead Sárosi on the score list, kicking the Hungarian out of the last position for which a quota could have been given. The decision of the International Association about the wild cards will be known in the second half of May.

Photo: facebook.com/badmintoneurope

Copy editor: bm

May 3, 2016

The beautiful Chain Bridge in the lights of Rio 2016

Budapest, April 26 (MTI) – Hundred days before the start of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, the Chain Bridge was lighted up in the yellow and green colours of the Brazilian flag.

By the decision of István Tarlós, Mayor of Budapest, almost two hundred illumination spots got a special, heat-proof foil cover on the bridge. With this Budapest joined the international initiation greeting the world competition.

According to the announcement, the 144 metal halide lamps on the mast body were illuminated in green, while the 52 lamps on the mast corona were illuminated in yellow. So the two prominent components of the Chain Bridge reflected the national colours of Brazil with the automatic public lighting. The bridge perfused Budapest with the yellow-green lights from 8 pm until 1 am.

Photos: MTI

April 28, 2016

72-year-old sports coach is getting ready for his 7th Olympic Games

Index.hu writes that László Cseuz is done with his medical examinations and he can now actively prepare for his next big trip. The 72-year-old onetime sports coach hasn’t missed an Olympic Games since Barcelona, and he departs to Rio in July as well. This will be the 7^th Olympic Games where he goes by bicycle, and South America will be the 5^th continent he visits. He is a bit scared of the favelas but, since he already has been through a lot, he is confident that he’ll come home safely.

“What would I be doing if I wasn’t working? Exercise for 2-3 hours a day, read and that’s all?” said László Cseuz. He thinks that the life of a retired would be miserable for him. That is why he got the sport rapporteur job at Pécel two years ago. He reinvigorated the sports life in the small town. His determination hasn’t eased after four decades of coaching.

His life is a perfect example: it’s never too late to restart something. After his divorce, triathlon became his guide in life. He was 44 years old when he entered his first triathlon competition. He trained very hard and became one of the bests in his category. His daughter became his partner in triathlon and they decided to cycle to Barcelona after both of them won the county competition in 1991. And Barcelona didn’t seem to be far away.

“After three I said that I finish with Sydney. And then came Athens, which was really close, and I didn’t want to miss it” said László. This is how the Barcelona adventure turned into a series, even though their first trip wasn’t unproblematic. Once the police picked them up at the freeway, they also got lost a few times, and his daughter had an accident as well. They arrived in Szentes after a hospital rest and with 5198 kilometres in their feet. When they were asked about Atlanta they immediately said that they were going.

His partner was taken away by love and studying, so he started his way alone to Atlanta and he goes by himself ever since.

He was getting older with every Olympic Games and he wanted to compensate by setting a higher goal. He cycled 160 km/day to Barcelona, 194 km/day to Atlanta, 214 km/day to Sydney and 232 km/day to Athens at the age of 60. He could’ve has rested more but he always thought of his trips as sport achievements and he spent as much time on land as he could.

According to index.hu, he has read many negative comments on his articles about how easy it is to get to Sydney if one flies to Australia. However, he always makes sure that his trips are not too easy. For instance, when he could only fly to New York from Paris at the time of the Olympic Games in Atlanta, he cycled to Brussels before heading to Paris so that he didn’t miss those kilometres.

The longest trip was the one to Beijing, it was 11.428 kilometres long. He left more time for himself, so it took him 3 months and 144 km/day. Sightseeing never really mattered him, since travelling alone is not easy, and he always has to keep an eye on his bicycle. This is why he usually eats at gas stations.

He crossed very poor regions, but he’s never been hurt. He once met a bear, they stared at each other, but luckily the bear got bored and got away. There were supposed to be cities in every 200 kilometres in Australia, but he frequently only found gas stations. The Australian trip was also hard due to the cold summer. Also, his only serious accident happened in Australia.

He only spends on accommodation at the venue of the Olympic Games otherwise he camps and tries to look for safe spots. He keeps in touch with many of his former students who now live abroad. That makes his stays in Europe easier.

He moved to Pécel not long ago, which is 150 km away from Szentes, his home city, where he didn’t find any job for himself, because of his age. There are three things that keep him going: work, exercise and the Olympic Games.

He never used dietary supplements, he eats when he’s hungry. He claims that, if he physically prepares conscientiously, then he does everything he can. He also swims but his main form of training is cycling. Now that he is in the preparation period, he wants to cycle 10 thousand kilometres until the end of July. This means 50 km/day after work and a few hours on his training machine.

He certainly won’t bring a GPS with him. He never does. He always brings simple maps with him. He once got on the freeway because of this, but according to him it is worth the small risk. He usually knows his way, but he never knows where he’s going to end up.

He plans to pull his punches now. He sticks to 5000 km but he only plans to cycle 120-130 km/day. He cycles to Amsterdam where he gets on the plane to São Paulo, and then he cycles to Rio and back. He won’t stay for long in Brazil because accommodation is very expensive during the Olympic Games. He will have four days at the Olympics; he definitely wants to cheer for the pentathlonists.

What comes after Brazil? “The mayor said that I’ll always have a place here, until he is here. I don’t live high, what else would I spend money on? I’ll be 76 years old at the time of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, if I’ll even be. If otherwise not, I’ll go as a tourist. What’s important is to always have a long-term plan.”

Photos: www.facebook.com/laszlo.cseuz

Copy editor: bm

February 13, 2016

Fourteen-year-old Hungarian swimmer earned Olympic quota

The athlete of “Kőbánya SC” earned Olympic quota in 400-meter freestyle reported the Hungarian Olympic Committee.

So far, 63 Hungarian athletes earned Olympic quotas. Ajna qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics by a time of 4:07.90 at an international qualifying competition in Győr.

Késely is the 20th Hungarian swimmer that earned Olympic quotas. Késely’s coach György Turi noted that the young swimmer broke her earlier Hungarian record in 400-meter freestyle by 2.9 seconds.

translated by hungarianambiance.com

December 21, 2015

Team Hungary Olympic opening ceremony uniforms unveiled

The Hungarian Olympic Committee unveiled Team Hungary Olympic opening ceremony uniforms during a press-conference at the Hungarian Olympic Committee (MOB) Headquarters on December 11, 2015.

The 2016 Rio Olympic uniform is designed by “Use Unused” fashion design agency. The head of the company András Tóth described the winning concept as being trendy and youthful.

Eleven agencies were invited to submit design concepts for the Olympic uniform. From the eleven agencies six submitted valid proposals for public tender.

The winning design has been chosen from three finalists, which included “Use Unused”, “The Four” and “Nubu” – fashion design agencies.

translated by hungarianambiance.com

Photo: mob.hu, MTI

Copy editor: bm

December 14, 2015

Hungarian team’s sportswear for Rio 2016 Olympics presented – photos and video

Budapest (MTI) – Dancers presented the Hungarian team’s Adidas sportswear for Rio 2016 Olympics in the Castle Garden Bazaar, Budapest on August 5, 2015.

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Here is the short video of Nemzeti Sport (National Sport) on the scene:

Photos: MTI

August 6, 2015

Read more news about RIO2016 HERE.

Men’s group matches:

Women’s group matches: