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Hungarians in the Olympics
1948, London

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Highlights

Legendary Boxer Laszlo Papp wins first of his historic 3 Consecutive Golds!
 Fencer Elek Ilona wins 2nd Consecutive Gold Medals!
 Men's Swimming Team take Silver
 Deszo Gyarmati and Men's Waterpolo Team take Silver

Gold Medalists:

Bobis Gyula (1909-1972), Wrestling: Heavyweight
Csik Tibor (1927-1976), Boxing
Elek Ilona (1907-),Fencing 2nd Gold
Gyarmati Olga (1924-), Long jump
Nemeth Imre (1917-), Hammerthrow (World Record) His son would win Gold in 1976!
Papp Laszlo (1926-), Boxing, Middleweight 1st  of 3!
Torma Gyula (Július) (1923-1991), Boxing: Welterweight - (Competing for Slovakia)
Pataki Ferenc (1917-),Gymnastics Floor Exercise/muszabadgyakorlat
Takacs Karoly (1910-1976), Shooting: 25m rapid fire pistol/loveszet otalakos gyorspisztoly 1st Gold

Men's Team Hungary - Fencing/Kardvivas: 6th Gold

    Bercelly Tibor (1912-), 2nd Gold
    Gerevich Aladar (1910-), 3rd Gold!
    Karpati Rudolf (1920-), 1st Gold
    Kovacs Pal (1912-), 2nd Gold!
    Papp Bertalan (1913-), 1st Gold
    Rajcsanyi Laszlo (1907-) 2nd Gold

     

     
    

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See all 1948 medalists (in Hungarian)

 Featured Olympian, Laszlo Papp:
(b. 3/25/1926 Budapest)

A Tragic Champion...
After winning the Olympic middleweight title in 1948 Hungary's László Papp won the light-middleweight crown in 1952 and 1956 to become the first boxer to win three Olympic gold medals (only great Teofilo Stevenson of Cuba could later match this feat). He also won European amateur titles in 1949 and 1951. Possibly his finest victory in the Olympic ring came in the 1956 final when he beat José Torres (USA), a future world professional champion. A skillful, hard-punching southpaw, Papp was the first fighter from the Soviet bloc allowed to turn professional and he won the European middleweight title in 1962. He would eventually amass 6 European Middleweight Titles (1962-1965). However, in 1965, the Hungarian authorities withdrew their permission for him to fight professionally and the chance of a world title bout was denied him. Papp later served as the coach of the Hungarian national boxing team from 1971-92. 

- See the International Olympic Committee's Olympic Heroes for additional photos and bio or The Hungary Page's own Famous Sports Hungarians section.

Featured Olympian, Takacs Karoly:
(b. Budapest, 1/21/1910, d. 1/5/1976)

The Right-Handed Shooter Who Won With His Left Hand...
Karoly Takacs was a member of the Hungarian pistol shooting team in 1938 when, while serving as a sergeant in the army, a defective grenade exploded in his right hand - his pistol hand - and shattered it completely. After spending a month in the hospital, Takacs secretly taught himself to shoot with his left hand. The following year he won the Hungarian pistol shooting championship and was a member of the Hungarian team that won the automatic pistol event at the world championships. The next two Olympics, in 1940 and 1944, were cancelled because of war, but in 1948 Takacs qualified for the Hungarian Olympic team in the rapid-fire pistol event. He was 38 years old. Before the competition, the favorite, world champion and world record holder, Carlos Enrique Díaz Saenz Valiente, asked Takacs why he was in London. Takacs replied, "I'm here to learn." Takacs won the gold medal and beat the world record by ten points. During the medal ceremony, Díaz Saenz Valiente, who finished second, turned to Takacs and said, "You have learned enough." Four years later in Helsinki, Takács successfully defended his Olympic title to become the first repeat winner of the rapid-fire pistol event. 

- See the International Olympic Committee's Olympic Heroes for additional photos and bio or read more about Olympic Shooting.

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