The Most Famous

ATHLETES from Hungary

This page contains a list of the greatest Hungarian Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 93 of which were born in Hungary. This makes Hungary the birth place of the 12th most number of Athletes behind Finland, and Poland.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Hungarian Athletes of all time. This list of famous Hungarian Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Hungarian Athletes.

1. Aladár Gerevich (1910 - 1991)

With an HPI of 58.62, Aladár Gerevich is the most famous Hungarian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 34 different languages on wikipedia.

Aladár Gerevich (16 March 1910 – 14 May 1991) was a Hungarian fencer, regarded as "the greatest Olympic swordsman ever". He won seven gold medals in sabre at six different Olympic Games.

2. Ibolya Csák (1915 - 2006)

With an HPI of 55.68, Ibolya Csák is the 2nd most famous Hungarian Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Ibolya Csák (6 January 1915 – 9 February 2006) was a Hungarian athlete.

3. Rudolf Bauer (1879 - 1932)

With an HPI of 54.18, Rudolf Bauer is the 3rd most famous Hungarian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Rezső Ignác Boldizsár "Rudolf" Bauer (2 January 1879 in Budapest – 9 November 1932 in Sósér, now part of the village Dunatetétlen) was a Hungarian athlete and the winner of the gold medal in the men's discus throw at the 1900 Summer Olympics. He won with 36.04 metres, a new Olympic record.

4. Imre Földi (1938 - 2017)

With an HPI of 52.41, Imre Földi is the 4th most famous Hungarian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Imre Földi (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈimrɛ ˈføldi]; 8 May 1938 – 23 April 2017) was a Hungarian weightlifter. Competing at a record of five Olympic Games, he won a gold medal in 1972 and silver medals in 1964 and 1968. During his career he set 21 world records, and after his retirement he coached his daughter to become a European champion. Földi earned numerous awards for his results and achievements, most notably he was named Weightlifter of the Century by the International Weightlifting Federation and was elected for Sportsperson of the Nation in Hungary.

5. Gyula Kellner (1871 - 1940)

With an HPI of 52.35, Gyula Kellner is the 5th most famous Hungarian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Gyula Richárd Kellner (April 11, 1871, in Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary – July 28, 1940, in Szolnok, Kingdom of Hungary) was a Hungarian athlete. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. Kellner was one of 17 athletes to start the marathon race (the first modern Olympic marathon). He finished in fourth place, but when the third-place finisher, Spiridon Belokas, was found to have covered a portion of the race by carriage, Kellner was awarded third place. His time was 3:06.35.

6. Nándor Dáni (1871 - 1949)

With an HPI of 52.01, Nándor Dáni is the 6th most famous Hungarian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Nándor János Dáni (2 July 1871 – 30 December 1948) was a Hungarian athlete. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. Dáni competed in the 800 metres, taking second place in his preliminary heat to advance to the final. There, he again finished behind Edwin Flack of Australia, the same runner who had beaten him in the first round. Dáni's time in the final was 2:11.8, less than a second behind Flack's 2:11.0 time. He was born and died in Budapest, Austria-Hungary.

7. Éva Székely (1927 - 2020)

With an HPI of 51.89, Éva Székely is the 7th most famous Hungarian Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Éva Székely (3 April 1927 – 29 February 2020) was a Hungarian swimmer. She won the gold medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki and the silver medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics, set six world records, and won 44 national titles. She held the first world record in the 400 m individual medley in 1953.

8. Miklós Németh (b. 1946)

With an HPI of 51.21, Miklós Németh is the 8th most famous Hungarian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Miklós Németh (born 23 October 1946) is a Hungarian Olympic champion and former world record holder in the javelin throw. Born in Budapest, he is the son of Imre Németh, who won the Olympic gold in the hammer throw at the 1948 Summer Olympics. Németh's winning effort at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal was also a world record, 94.58m in the first round. Silver medalist Hannu Siitonen of Finland, whose record of 93.90m was set in June, achieved 87.92m — more than 6.5m (nearly 22 feet) behind Németh. The new champion was elected Hungarian Sportsman of the Year for his achievement. Németh's gold medal world-record performance stood until 23 April 1980, when fellow Hungarian Ferenc Paragi launched the spear 96.72m.

9. Zoltán Horváth (b. 1937)

With an HPI of 51.05, Zoltán Horváth is the 9th most famous Hungarian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Zoltán Horváth (born 12 March 1937) is a Hungarian retired sabre fencer. At the 1960 Olympics, he won the gold medal in the team competition, and the individual silver medal behind teammate Rudolf Kárpáti. Horváth also took part in the 1964 Olympics, placing fifth in the team competition. At world championships, his biggest success came in 1962, when he won the individual competition and placed second with the team. Horváth had already won two gold medals in the team competitions of the 1957 and 1958 world championships, and gained a third in 1966.

10. Sándor Rozsnyói (1930 - 2014)

With an HPI of 50.68, Sándor Rozsnyói is the 10th most famous Hungarian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Sándor Rozsnyói (born Sándor Rosner, 24 November 1930 – 2 September 2014) was a Hungarian athlete, who mainly competed in the 3,000-metre steeple chase. Born in Zalaegerszeg, he competed for Hungary at the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne, Australia, where he won the silver medal in the men's 3000 m steeplechase. Rozsnyói absconded from the plane on his return trip to Hungary and became a refugee in Vienna, Austria, as the Soviet Union had invaded Hungary. His wife managed to escape to Austria and reunite with him. After working in Vienna for 7 years, the family migrated to Sydney, Australia. Rozsnyói lived for much of his life in Epping, NSW, with his wife and sons Alex and Les. He was a PE teacher with the NSW Department of Education. In 2007, he was awarded the International Fair Play Award for the sportsmanship he displayed when he chose not to challenge the outcome of his 1956 Olympic Steeplechase race.

People

Pantheon has 257 people classified as Hungarian athletes born between 1871 and 2003. Of these 257, 173 (67.32%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Hungarian athletes include Miklós Németh, Zoltán Horváth, and Ileana Silai. The most famous deceased Hungarian athletes include Aladár Gerevich, Ibolya Csák, and Rudolf Bauer. As of April 2024, 163 new Hungarian athletes have been added to Pantheon including Béla Zsitnik, András Székely, and András Szente.