Hungary at the Olympics
Hungary is one of the fourteen countries that participated in the inaugural Olympic Games in Athens Greece in 1896. On that first occasion of the modern Olympic Games, Hungary ranked 6th overall with a total of six Olympic medals that included two gold.
Since their debut in 1896, Hungary only missed the Summer Games twice. The first one was in 1920 when they were practically banned after World War I and when they were basically forced to participate in the boycott of the 1984 Summer Games held in Los Angeles, California, USA. Besides the two times mentioned, the Hungarian Olympic Committee have consistently sent athletes to the Summer Games to represent the country.
Hungary is considered as one of the strongest teams in the Summer Games. With the exception of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Hungary has never ranked lower than 13th overall and even reaching the 3rd spot overall in two occasions (1936 and 1952).
Hungary's first-ever Olympic gold medalist is swimmer Alfréd Hajós who won the gold for both the men's 100m and 1200m freestyle on the same day (April 11). He paved the way for a whole slew of Olympic medalist that helped establish Hungary as one of the pillars of the modern Olympic Games.
The Winter Games is a little bit trickier for Hungary. They have participated in the Winter Games since the beginning (1924). But they had to wait until 1932 for their first Olympic medal from the Winter Games when the figure skating duo of Emília Rotter and László Szollás won the bronze in Lake Placid, United States.
Trivia
- Budapest in Hungary had initially been selected to host the 1920 Olympic Games, but following the war the Games were transferred to Antwerp.
- Hungarian Alfréd Hajós won two gold medals at the 1896 Athens Olympics in swimming, then 28 years later won silver in architecture for his stadium design, co-designed with Dezső Lauber.
- Four Hungarian Olympic fencing gold medallists died in German concentration camps during World War Two. They were Oszkar Gerde (winner 1908, 1912); Janos Garay (1928 winner); Endre Kabos (1932, 1936); and Attila Petschauer (1928, 1932).
- Many know of the grudge polo match between Hungary and the Soviet Union played at the 1956 Games, soon after the Soviets invaded Hungary, but the result? Hungary won 4-0, then went on to win gold.
Related Pages
- Hungary at the Winter Olympics
- More trivia from each Country at the Olympic Games
- About sport in Hungary
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