It might come as a surprise, but even though Hungary is smaller and less densely populated than its rivals were at each Olympic Games, it is among the countries with the most Olympic gold medals, argues Heti Világgazdaság.
Hungary was not only there at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 but has always returned with several gold trophies. The devoted sportsmen and -women placed Hungary among those distinguished nations which won the most gold medals at the Games, despite the fact that Hungary is smaller both in size and in population than the rest of the top gold medallists.
The years where Hungary did not make it into the top 10 are right after World War I: in Antwerp in 1920 (not invited), in Paris in 1924, in Amsterdam in 1928 and in Los Angeles in 1932. However, by 1936, Hungary regained its strength. In 1984, Hungary did not participate again.
The video below illustrates the top 10 gold winners each year from 1896 until 2016.
So who are those winners who Hungary is the proudest of? Aladár Gerevich (fencer) and Ágnes Keleti (gymnast) must be noted first, as they have won the most medals as far as Hungary is concerned, with 10-10 medals each. Gerevich is also the top gold winner, having won 7 gold medals. He is followed by two other fencers with 6-6 golds, Pál Kovács and Rudolf Kárpáti.
The most well-known Hungarian Olympic champion of today is easily Katinka Hosszú, the Iron Lady.
So far, the swimming legend has amassed 7 Olympic golds and holds world records in each of the five medley events.
Before her, the female star swimmer of Hungary was Krisztina Egerszegi, who won five golds at the Olympics, but the most important thing is that she was the first Hungarian female swimmer to win a gold at the Olympic Games.
Last but not least, let us not forget about the greatest victory in the history of Hungarian water-polo, the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, which was right after the Hungarian Revolution, and was boycotted by several countries. The Hungarian team managed to beat the Soviet team 4-0 thanks to Ervin Zádor. The “Blood in the Water” match got Hungary an Olympic gold.
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