At the moment, Hungary stands in 13th place at the medal table.Continue reading
The accomplishments of Hungarian athletes at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics have been nothing short of amazing after the exceptional results of the first week, and if possible, the past seven days of the world’s foremost sports competition have brought even more successes to Hungary.
The Hungarian team continued to make valuable additions to its Tokyo Olympics medal count in the second week. Out of Hungary’s 17 medals in total, Hungarian athletes pocketed 3 gold, 6 silver, and 3 bronze in the past seven days alone. Due to their exceptional performances, Hungary stands in 14th place at the medal table.
Gold
The excellent Hungarian kayaker, Bálint Kopasz, won his first-ever gold in the Olympics in the men’s sprint kayak single 1000m with an amazing performance. With his success, the 24-year-old athlete was able to add the title of Olympic champion next to the European and World Champion titles he won in 2019.
Likewise, World and European champion wrestler, Tamás Lőrincz, also managed to fulfill his dream of ending his more than 15-year adult sports career with an Olympic gold medal after winning the 77kg wrestling final.
Meanwhile, Sándor Tótka managed to take Hungary’s very first Olympic gold medal in 200-meter kayaking in an intense race. As the 200-meter events will not make a return to the next Olympic Games starting in Paris in 2024 this also means that Tótka might also be the last athlete to win this discipline in the history of the competition.
Silver
After easily winning the 200m butterfly, Kristóf Milák earned his second medal, this time a silver, in the men’s 100m butterfly. The young swimmer even set a new European Record, while finishing merely a few hundredths of a second behind the event favorite. With his performance at the Olympics, Milák has proven that he is a force to be reckoned with.
Although the men’s sprint kayak single 1000 meters brought a victory for Bálint Kopasz, his teammate Ádám Varga – following a great whirlwind- could stand on the second step of the podium, bringing double Hungarian success in the event.
The 2020 Summer Olympics brought success to sailor Zsombor Berecz as well, who set an all-time record as the first Hungarian to win a silver medal in sailing at the Olympics. Sailing in the Finn class, Berecz had an excellent run, scoring only three points short of the title defender, Great Britain’s Giles Scott.
Even though Olympic champion Tamás Lőrincz’s brother, Viktor Lőrincz, did not win his final match in Tokyo, his excellent performance throughout the grueling competition won him a well-deserved silver medal, his first podium finish at an Olympics.
Kristóf Rasovszky won silver in the men’s 10km marathon swimming competition, becoming the first Hungarian athlete in the event to win a medal at the Olympics.
Not only the men’s but also the women’s kayakers of the Hungarian Olympic team did a great job. Tamara Csipes powered through the women’s kayak single 500 meters, reaching and maintaining second place as she passed the halfway point of the track. Her exceptional performance earned her a silver medal.
Bronze
Hungary did not have the best start in the final of the women’s 500-meter kayak double, but the pair of Danuta Kozák and Dóra Bodonyi managed to win the bronze medal with their exceptional perseverance.
For Sarolta Kovács, Olympic participation was still in question in March, but in Tokyo the Hungarian athlete managed to win bronze in the women’s pentathlon with an impressive performance.
As karate made its Olympic debut in Tokyo, Gábor Hárspataki was able to progress to the semi-finals of the men’s kumite 75kg , where he met the icon of the sport, Rafael Aghayev. The Azerbaijani karate fighter won the match, with Hárspataki finishing the Olympics in Tokyo in third place.
In the featured photo: Bálint Kopasz after winning gold in the men’s sprint kayak single 1000m; photo by Tamás Kovács/MTI
