by Larry Eder
Welcome to the World Champs 2023 Preview, Day 2, Meeting the Stars of Hungarian Athletics!
For the next 45 days, RunBlogRun will be posting a story a day on the buildup to the World Athletics Outdoor Championships, to be held in Budapest, Hungary, from August 19-August 27, 2023.
Hungary has a long sports tradition, and athletics is one of its most popular. Of the ten Olympic gold medals won by Hungary, five of them are from the hammer throw!
Hungary has won 10 golds, 12 silver, and 18 bronze medals in the modern Olympic Games since 1896.
One of my favorite stories of Hungarian athletic prowess is about the Nemeth family. In 1948, Imre Nemeth took gold in the hammer. When Imre’s son, Miklos, showed prowess in the javelin. Miklos showed talent but was not winning medals in championships until he put it all together, in his first throw, in Montreal 1976 final, destroying the world record. with his 94.58m throw. Nemeth dominated the field with his huge throw, winning by 6.5 meters over the silver medalist, Hannu Siitonen of Finland. Miklos Nemeth held the world record until it was broken on 23 April 1980 by Ferenc Paragi.
Their last Olympic gold medalist from Hungary was Krisztián Pars, who took Olympic gold in 2012 and won the European Championships in 2012 and 2014. Krisztián Pars won silver in Daegu 2011 and Moscow 2013. Now 40, Krisztián Pars wants the World Championships in Budapest to be his swan song.
Hungary has yet to win a gold medal in the World Athletics Outdoor Championships!
Anita Marton won the women’s shot put gold medal in Birmingham in 2018 at the World Athletics Indoor Championships. Anita took a bronze medal outdoors in the Rio Olympics shot put in 2016. In 2017, the star of Hungarian athletics took silver. Add two European indoor titles, silver and bronze outdoors at European Outdoors, and Anita Marton, a shot putter who has brought home a medal to Hungary in nearly every championship since 2016. Anita Marton is hoping for a big return to form on her home soil this summer.
A wonderful group of young, talented Hungarian athletes will be competing in all five relays at the World Championships in Budapest. They also have talented athletes in the hurdles, multi-events, and distances.
Over the next six weeks, we will introduce you to the stars of Hungarian athletes- past, present, and future.
The World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, will be held August 19-27, 2023, and tickets are available now! Click here to learn more about ticket sales: https://tickets.wabudapest23.com/
To learn more about the stars of Hungarian athletics, please enjoy this article: https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/budapest23/news/news/past-heroes-of-hungarian-athletics-and-future-talents-of-the-world-championships
