Zoltán Magyar

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Bust of Zoltán Magyar

Zoltán Magyar (born December 13, 1953 in Budapest ) is a former Hungarian artistic gymnast . Magyar was the outstanding gymnast on the pommel horse in the 1970s, winning all major championships on this device from 1973 to 1980.

Career

Magyar belonged to Ferencváros Budapest and trained under Lászlo Vigh. Magyar started gymnastics in 1965 and was part of the Hungarian national team from 1971.

At the age of 18, Magyar took part in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, where he finished 29th in the individual ranking and 8th with the Hungarian team, but was not yet able to qualify for a device final. A year later he won gold on the pommel horse at the European Championships in Grenoble. At the gymnastics world championships in 1974 in Varna Magyar won 0.2 points ahead of the Russian Nikolai Yefimowitsch Andrianow . At the European Championships in 1975 in Bern, Magyar was able to successfully defend his 1973 title. With 4th place he achieved the best all-around position of his career in Bern.

In 1976, when he took part in the Olympics for the second time, he finished fourth with the team, just behind the squad from the GDR. In the all-around competition, Magyar was ninth and fifth in the horse jump. On the pommel horse he was unbeatable again, with 19.7 points he achieved the highest number of points of all apparatus finals. In 1977 he won his third European title in Vilnius. At the World Gymnastics Championships in 1978 he again achieved the best mark of all devices with 19.8 points. With a 0.375 point lead over second-placed Eberhard Gienger , Magyar achieved the greatest lead of his career. A year later, at the 1979 World Gymnastics Championships in Fort Worth, Magyar rose to 19.825 points, but was only 0.1 points ahead of the American Kurt Thomas . At the end of his career, Magyar took part in the Olympic Games for the third time in Moscow in 1980 . In the all-around competition, he finished ninth, but won bronze with the team after Japan and the United States boycotted the games. On the pommel horse, Magyar once again achieved the highest score of all devices with 19.925 points.

In 1974, 1978 and 1980 Magyar was voted Hungary's Sportsman of the Year. After the 1980 Olympic Games, Magyar ended his competitive sports career. Today he works as a veterinarian in Budapest. In 2012 Zoltán Magyar was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame .

Special exercises

Two exercise parts invented by Magyar were named after him and are now standard on the pommel horse. When hiking in Magyar , the gymnast moves across the entire device and shows circular flanks. With the Magyar spindle , the gymnast rotates a pirouette on the device and shows circular flanks.

literature

  • Volker Kluge : Summer Olympic Games. The Chronicle III. Mexico City 1968 - Los Angeles 1984. Sportverlag Berlin, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-328-00741-5 .
  • Peter Matthews, Ian Buchanan, Bill Mallon: The Guinness International Who's Who of Sport . Enfield 1993 ISBN 0-85112-980-3

Web links
personal data
SURNAME Magyar, Zoltan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Hungarian artistic gymnast
DATE OF BIRTH December 13, 1953
PLACE OF BIRTH Budapest