Olympians

A Frenchman, Pierre de Coubertin championed the revival of the games which were organized in 1896 and held in Paris. (Please see the 1963 Hungarian stamp honoring him.) That first game was all male, with women first competing in 1900. Women continued to increase in participation, now nearing 50% of competitors. The games have been held every four years with the exceptions of 1916 for WWI and 1940 and 1944 for WWII. Hungary was not included in 1920 and boycotted in 1984, therefore participating in 28 of 30 Olympic games held thus far.

The goal of the Olympics was to promote international peace and co-operation. The Olympics symbol of five intersecting circles represents the five continents with north and south America in one of the circles and excluding Antarctica. (Please see picture of Olympic circles with continents.)

Hungary’s official Olympic symbol is the Hungarian seal with the bent cross on the Hungarian crown above the five interlocking circles of the world’s people. (Please see picture.)

Hungary with seven athletes, was one of twelve nations participating in the 1896 Olympics. Hungary brought home six medals, including two gold. At the post-Olympic banquet, the king of Greece asked Alfred Hajós, the gold medalist, where did he learn to be so good at swimming. He answered, “in the water.”

Winter sports were made a separate division of the Olympic games in 1924. The games were first televised in 1936 in Berlin, where Hungary finished a rank of third. In Helsinki in 1952 with 189 athletes, Hungary won 42 medals and again finished third in rank in the world. The winter Olympics concentrating on winter sports offset their events from the Summer Olympics by two years in 1994, but still were held every four years.

Hungary was the first country to send a national team in 1896 in Athens. The other nations sent students and athletic clubs. Hungary produced a set of stamps in 1925 honoring the 1924 Olympics in Paris. (Please see the set of eight stamps depicting the Olympic parade and various sports.) Incidentally, the 1000 Korona stamp is the very first stamp in the world depicting scouting activity. The U.S.A. had also honored the Olympics in 1932 with two stamps for the Summer Games in Los Angeles and one stamp for the Winter games in Lake Placid, New York. (Please see the three American stamps.)

Hungary has won ranges from one to sixteen gold medals, from one to thirteen silver, and from zero to sixteen bronze medals in each participated Olympic game. She has been ranked from third to 21st in the twenty-eight Games in which she participated. Of interest is the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia where Hungary placed 4th in the world. During the semi-final match for Water Polo between Hungary and the USSR, that match became known as the “blood in the water” for the fierceness of the competition. In the final minutes of the match, a Russian player savagely hit Ervin Zádor in the face with his elbow. Blood flowed down Zádor’s face and chest into the pool. (Please see pictures of Ervin Zádor being led from the pool and the subsequent picture of the Hungarian Olympic Water Polo team with their gold medals.) By the way, Hungary won 4-0 against the USSR, the very country that had just three weeks earlier brutally suppressed Hungary’s attempt at freedom. After beating out the USSR for the semi-final, Hungary then beat Yugoslavia for the gold medal 2-1. It is interesting to note that the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and Liechtenstein boycotted the 1956 Olympics in protest of the Soviet Union’s crushing of the Hungarian revolution.

Hungary has produced numerous excellent examples of stamps commemorating most modern Olympics.

• Please see 1960 set of eleven stamps and souvenir sheet, honoring the Rome Olympics.
• Please see 1965 set of twelve stamps, showing the sport and the medals won at the Tokyo Olympics.
• Please see 1969 set of eight stamps and one souvenir sheet, honoring the Mexico City Olympics and the sport
• Please see 1973 set of seven stamps and one souvenir sheet, showing medals won and the sport at the Munich Olympics.
• Please see 1976 set of five stamps and one souvenir sheet, showing medals won and the sport at the Montreal Olympics.
• Please see 2000 set of three stamps and one souvenir sheet, depicting medals won and the sport at the Sidney Olympics.

Of special interest are three souvenir sheets with collages of respective Hungarian Olympic teams. Please see:

• 2006 collage commemorating the Hungarian team of 1956 Melbourne
• 2008 collage commemorating the Hungarian team of 1952 Helsinki
• 2010 collage commemorating the Hungarian team of 1960 Rome

The official goal of the international committee is the amateur individual excellence of the participants. The IOC had accomplished that in the 128 years of its existence. Professional athletes officially participated in 1980 and subsequently in every Olympiad.

But some remarkable facts emerge when analyzing the national results. There are eight countries that have earned more medals than Hungary. But what puts the figure into perspective is when the population of those countries are brought to bear. Hungary has ten million people. (Please see graph of the top ten countries listing total number of medals won, population, and number of medals per ten million citizens.) Per capita, It is evident that Hungary comes out way ahead.

This is amazing when you consider Hungary missed the 1920 and 1984 Olympic games. Of the 30 Olympic games, Hungary has participated in 28. Those 2 missed games would have added even more medals won. Also considering Hungary lost WWI and WWII and lost two-thirds of its population and area after WWI at the Treaty of Trianon and Hungary had to deal with oppression for 45 years after WWII, which included a severe crackdown of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.

There is no doubt that Hungary, sometimes, in spite of itself, is a blessed nation. Our achievements in science, sports, and fidelity to our creator can be explained by a remarkable relationship with God Almighty. What can explain the extraordinary continued successes over 100 years in the Olympics? It cannot be coincidence or luck. Factors contributing to a nation’s Olympic success per capita include: economic strength, population size, sporting culture and infrastructure, government support, social equity which benefits always a larger population, and focus on specific sports. Something in the inner fiber of the Hungarian nation promotes excellence regardless of a myriad of obstacles. In 896 AD Hungary officially and publicly proclaimed herself to be a Christian nation. Hungary in its 1129 years of existence has experienced many victories, but has suffered numerous losses. As the Bible states in Proverbs 24:16, a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again. So, God has blessed Hungary by raising her up each time.

Joke: Favorite post-race dish for Hungarians: Gulyás with a side of medals.