Gyula Pálóczi (13 September 1962 – 28 January 2009) was a Hungarian athlete who specialized in the long jump and triple jump. He won two medals at the

European Indoor Championships The European Indoor Championships was a men's tennis tournament played in Berlin, Germany. The event was played as part of the ATP Tour in 1990 and 1991. It was played on indoor carpet courts. Finals Singles Doubles See also * Berlin Open ...

, and due to his versatility the European Athletic Association has called him "the most successful jumper Hungary has ever produced".

Long jump

Pálóczi first made his mark in international athletics at the 1983 European Indoor Championships in Budapest. With a jump of 7.90 metres he won the silver medal, five centimetres behind compatriot

László Szalma László Szalma (born 27 October 1957) is a retired Hungarian long jumper. He won six medals at the European Indoor Championships—two gold, three silver and one bronze—and finished fourth at the 1980 Olympic Games and the 1983 Wor ...

. Later that year Pálóczi competed at the inaugural World Championships. He leapt 7.70 metres in the qualifying round, which was not enough to reach the final. He missed the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

due to the Soviet-led

1984 Summer Olympics boycott The boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles followed four years after the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The boycott involved 14 Eastern Bloc countries and allies, led by the Soviet Union, which initiate ...

. In the 1984–85 indoor season, however, Pálóczi won the gold medal at the

. It was a very tight competition, with Pálóczi being tied by László Szalma but winning on countback; also, he was one centimetre ahead of bronze medalist

Sergey Layevskiy Sergey Layevskiy ( uk, Сергіӣ Лаєвський; born 3 March 1959) is a retired long jumper who represented the USSR and later Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-larg ...

and two centimetres ahead of fourth placer

Ján Leitner Jan Leitner (; born 14 September 1953) is a retired long jumper who represented Czechoslovakia. Leitner was born in Znojmo, Czechoslovakia. His greatest achievements were gold medals at the European Athletics Indoor Championships and IAAF World ...

. The mark of 8.15 metres was his personal best indoor result. In the summer of 1985 he leapt a career best of 8.25 metres, achieved in August in Budapest. Pálóczi later competed at the 1988 European Indoor Championships in Budapest, and this time finished seventh. He became the Hungarian long jump champion in 1984, 1986 and 1990, rivalling with László Szalma and

Csaba Almási Csaba Almási (born 4 July 1966) is a retired Hungarian long jumper. He was born in Miskolc. He finished fifteenth at the 1989 European Indoor Championships and twelfth at the 1989 World Indoor Championships.. Retrieved on 3 February 2009. H ...

. He also became Hungarian indoor champion once; in 1985.

Later career

Pálóczi later concentrated on the triple jump. He became the Hungarian triple jump champion in 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993 and 1994; his main rivals were

Béla Bakosi Béla Bakosi (born 18 June 1957) is a retired triple jumper from Hungary. He won six medals at the European Indoor Championships and a bronze medal at the 1982 European Championships in Athletics The 13th European Athletics Championships were held ...

Tibor Ordina Tibor Ordina (17 March 1971 – 12 April 2016) was a Hungarian athlete who specialized in the long jump and triple jump. Born in Budapest, Ordina stood at tall, and during his active career he weighed . Long jump In the long jump he finished el ...

and

Zsolt Czingler Zsolt Czingler (born 28 April 1971 in Budapest) is a retired Hungarian triple jumper, whose personal best was 17.24 metres, achieved in May 1998 in Tivoli Tivoli may refer to: * Tivoli, Lazio, a town in Lazio, Italy, known for historic sites; ...

. He also became Hungarian indoor champion in 1989 and 1990. In 1993 he recorded a career best jump of 16.87 metres, achieved in July in Tata. Internationally he competed in the triple jump event at the 1993 World Championships, but with only 15.89 metres he finished near the bottom of the list, and did not reach the final. Pálóczi also recorded 2.11 metres in the high jump. He stood tall, and during his active career he weighed .. Retrieved on 2 February 2009. He died in January 2009 at the age of 46.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paloczi, Gyula 1962 births 2009 deaths Hungarian male long jumpers Hungarian male triple jumpers World Athletics Championships athletes for Hungary World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists Sportspeople from Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County Competitors at the 1984 Friendship Games Hungarian Athletics Championships winners