Page 102 - Olympism in Socialism

contemporary Hungarian sculpture. Young —
and not so young — writers will form soccer
teams and play tournament matches. Also more
and more top athletes enter the professions.
World fencing (sabre) champions Peter
Bakonyi and Attila Kovacs are by profession
engineers engaged in electronics research; Jeno
Kamuti, the celebrated foils man, is a surgeon;
Istvan Gylyas, a life-long Hungarian champion
tennis-player, is an architect; Olympic champion
marksman Laszlo Hammerl is a physician; and
soccer international Mate Fenyvesi is a
veterinarian.
The mention of Hungary anywhere reminds
one of the names of the members of the “golden”
football team: Puskas, Kocsis, Czibor, Hidegkuti.
At that time, when ordinary citizens were not
granted passports, leading sportsmen had the
chance to go and see the world. But material
considerations or the wish to travel were not the
only reasons for the achievements; the chief
motive was that young Hungarians wanted to
show the world that they had talent, courage and
“virtus”. (This word has been taken from the Latin
but its Hungarian connotation is broader than
the original: “virtus” is an exploit, a daring
performance, an act of bravado, prowess.)
It was national consciousness and “virtus”
that lay behind outstanding Hungarian sporting
achievements back in the 19th century.
In October 1874, a Hungarian army officer
made a bet that he could ride on horseback from
Vienna to Paris within 14 days. In the same year,
two former soldiers of 1 848-49 war of
independence walked from Pest to
Hajduboszormeny, and back in 72 hours, the
total distance being 400 kilometres. A journalist,
Kalman Szekenyessy, swam across the Balaton

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