Hungary has enjoyed the most success in Fencing, with a total of 87 medals which includes 37 gold, 23 silver and 27 bronze medals.
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Hungary has been a part of the Olympics since the inaugural 1896 edition, which is an indication of the glorious connection the nation shares with the prestigious event. Athletes have been sent to compete in most editions of the Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics, barring two occasions. The nation was not invited to the 1920 Games, due to its role in World War 1. Hungary was further not a part of the 1984 Summer Olympics, due to its support for the Soviet-led boycott. Hungary is considered one of the strongest teams in the history of the Summer Games. The nation has never ranked lower than 13th overall, barring the exception of the 2008 Bejing Olympics.
Hungary even reached the third spot overall on two occasions (1936 and 1952). The nation’s first-ever Olympic gold medalist is swimmer Alfred Hajos. Hajos won the gold for both the men’s 100m and 1200m freestyle on the same day (April 11, 1896). His glorious feat set the stage for upcoming athletes, who gained confidence from the massive achievement. Interestingly, Budapest in Hungary had initially been selected to host the 1920 Olympic Games. However, the event was shifted to Antwerp due to the war.
The 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki marked the most successful edition of the Olympics for Hungary. 189 athletes competed in the tournament, with the nation recording 16 gold medals, 10 silver medals and 16 bronze medals respectively. A total of 42 medals was accumulated. The individual athletes who won gold medals are as follows: Jozsef Csermak, Laszlo Papp, Pal Kovacs, Agnes Keleti, Margit Korondi, Karoly Takacs, Katalin Szoke, Eva Szekely, Valeria Gyenge, Imre Hodos, Miklos Szilvasy.
The remaining gold medals were won by the national football team, three-member modern pentathlon side and the water polo squad in the men’s team competition. The second-highest number of gold medals were recorded in the 1988 Seoul Olympics and 1992 Barcelona Olympics. 11 medals apiece were won in both editions.
Fencer Aladar Gerevich is considered one of Hungary’s most notable Olympic athletes. He competed between 1932 and 1960, winning seven gold medals in sabre [one individual and six team]. He has more Olympic titles than any other competitor from Hungary. Gerevich’s overall total of 10 is a joint record for the NOC. He further shares the Olympic appearance record for Hungary (6) with windsurfer Aron Gadorfalvi [1996-2016] and fellow fencer Aida Mohamed [1996-2016]. Pal Kovacs [six gold, one bronze] between 1936 and 1960, Rudolf Karpati [six gold] from 1948 to 1960, and Ildiko Sagi-Rejto [two gold, three silver and two bronze] represent some of the other prominent fencers over the years.
These fencers made their mark in women’s foil between 1960 and 1976. Gymnast Agnes Keleti is further another athlete from the nation to have made her presence felt in the Olympics. Keleti claimed five gold, three silver and two bronze across the 1952 and 1956 Games, dominating the women’s gymnastics competition at Melbourne, 1956.
Krisztina Egerszegi is one of the nation’s outstanding swimmers. She won four gold medals in women’s backstroke events and another gold in the 400m individual medley. These medals were won between 1988 and 1996. Tamas Darnyi recorded the double-double in the men’s 200m and 400m individual relay events in 1988 and 1992. Katinka Hosszu made her presence felt in the 2016 Rio Olympics, accounting for three gold medals and a silver medal.
Oszkar Gerde (winner 1908, 1912); Janos Garay (1928 winner); Endre Kabos (1932, 1936); and Attila Petschauer (1928, 1932) are four other fencers who made Hungary proud with gold medals. These gold medallists sadly died in German concentration camps during World War Two.
Hungary has enjoyed the most success in Fencing, with a total of 87 medals which includes 37 gold, 23 silver and 27 bronze medals. Canoeing has witnessed the second-highest number of medals with 80 medals. The same includes 25 gold medals, 29 silver medals and 26 bronze medals. Swimming represents the third most successful sport for the nation, with 73 medals accumulated.
Hungary has further earned 15 medals in water polo over the years, with 9 gold medals, 3 silver medals and 3 bronze as well. The nation has won more medals in the sport than any other NOC at the Olympics. The men’s team stood on the podium 15 times out of the 12 occasions it has competed in the premier tournament.
The men’s team’s nine gold medals include a run of three consecutive titles between 2000 and 2008. Eight Hungarian water polo players have won three gold medals during their Olympic careers. However, only Dezso Gyarmati, who competed at five consecutive editions of the Games between 1948 and 1964, was a part of teams that went on to win a silver and bronze medal. Gyarmati led the Hungarian men’s team to gold in 1976 in the role of a coach.
