The key to success in humble work, says Olympic champion.Continue reading
A statue of Endre Kabos, Olympic fencing champion born in Oradea (Nagyvárad), will be erected in his hometown, the Oradea Mayor’s Office announced on Wednesday.
The civic initiative project won the necessary support, coming third out of 18 applications found suitable for implementation. This year, the Oradea Mayor’s Office has earmarked a total of RON 1.47 million (EUR 300,000) for projects initiated by the city’s residents under the participatory budget.
Endre Kabos was born on November 5, 1906 in Oradea (as Endre Katz) and died on November 4, 1944 in Budapest.
He achieved outstanding success as a sabre fencer, winning four Olympic medals, including three gold medals, one of them in individual competition in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
He also had an individual bronze from Los Angeles four years earlier. At the European Championships, he collected six golds, four in team, two in individual, and also won a silver in individual.
Endre Kabos died tragically in 1944, the day before his 38th birthday. There are two versions of the circumstances of his death. One version is that he was called in as a labor conscript during the Second World War because of his Jewish origins, and the lorry carrying them exploded on Margaret Bridge, mined by the Germans. The other version is that he was traveling on the streetcar when the explosion killed him.
Maszol, a Hungarian-language Romanian news portal earlier reported that the statue of Endre Kabos was initiated by the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ). According to the article, sculptor Árpád Deák from Oradea has already completed the statue, that is now only waiting to be erected.
The winning bidders also point out that
the full-length statue of the Oradea-born athlete is complete, and the project will involve finding a suitable location near the sports hall or in a public square where it can be erected.
They argue that a statue of the Olympic champion would be a motivating factor for local young people and future sportsmen and sportswomen. The cost of the statue is estimated at RON 90,000 (EUR 18,000).
Via MTI, Maszol.ro; Featured image: Wikipedia