Lajos Gönczy (24 February 1881 – 3 December 1915)
[Lajos Gönczy's profile at the Hungarian Olympic Committee](_blank)
was a
Hungarian high jump
The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...
er. He participated in
Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics
At the 1900 Summer Olympics, twenty-three athletics events were contested. Altogether, 117 athletes from 15 nations competed. A total of 68 medals (23 gold, 23 silver, 22 bronze) were awarded. In many countries, due in part to the conflation of t ...
in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, the
1904 Summer Olympics
The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 29 August to 3 September 1904, as part of an extended s ...
in
St.Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which ...
and the
1906 Intercalated Games
The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were referred to as the "Second International Olympic Games i ...
in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
and won two medals.
Gönczy was born in
Szeged
Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...
, he was educated in his local high school and this is where his talent started for athletics, after high school he attended the
Pázmány Péter Catholic University
Pázmány Péter Catholic University (PPCU) ( hu, Pázmány Péter Katolikus Egyetem (''PPKE'')) is a private university in and near Budapest, Hungary, belonging to the Catholic Church and recognized by the state. Founded in 1635, the PPCU is ...
to read law, and while there he joined the Budapest University Athletics Club,
Between 1900 and 1904, Gönczy held four national high jump records,
aged 19 years old Gönczy traveled to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
for the
1900 Summer Olympics
The 1900 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1900, link=no), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 1 ...
, in the
high jump
The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...
there was no qualification it was straight to the final, Gönczy jumped 1.75 metres to finish third behind
Irving Baxter
Irving Knott Baxter (March 25, 1876 in Utica, New York – June 13, 1957 in Utica, New York) was an American athlete, who won the gold medal in both the men's high jump and the pole vault at the 1900 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France ...
and
Patrick Leahy
Patrick Joseph Leahy (; born March 31, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who is the senior United States senator from Vermont and serves as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate. A member of the Democratic Party, ...
to earn the bronze medal. Four years later he went to
St.Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which ...
for the
1904 Summer Olympics
The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 29 August to 3 September 1904, as part of an extended s ...
, this time in the
high jump
The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...
he missed out on a medal by just 2 centimetres when he jumped 1.75 metres and finished fourth, Gönczy also competed in the
standing high jump The standing high jump is an athletics event that was featured in the Olympics from 1900 to 1912. It is performed in the same way as high jump, with the difference being that the athlete has no run-up and must stand still and jump with both feet ...
but only jumped 1.35 metres and finished last out of the competitors, he would compete in the same two events two years later at the
1906 Intercalated Games
The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were referred to as the "Second International Olympic Games i ...
, in the high jump he finished in silver medal place just behind
Con Leahy
Cornelius "Con" Leahy (27 April 1876 – 18 December 1921) was an Irish athlete, who won medals at the 1906 Intercalated Games and the 1908 Olympic Games for Great Britain.
Biography
Leahy was born in Creggane, outside Bruree, on the Coun ...
, he also went on to finish fifth again in the standing high jump.
In 1910 he retired from competitive events and returned to
Szeged
Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...
to work as a
magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
, he married in 1913, then at the beginning of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
he joined the 46th Honvéd Infantry Brigade, and was mobilized to the Italian front in 1915, on 3 December 1915, his dugout received a direct hit killing him and two other officers. He died in
Doberdò del Lago
Doberdò del Lago ( sl, Doberdob; Bisiacco: ; fur, Dobardò) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about southwest of Gorizia, and borders the following municipalit ...
and was buried in the Vallone valley.
See also
*
List of Olympians killed in World War I
A total of 144 Olympians are known to have been killed during World War I.
See also
* List of international rugby union players killed in World War I
Notes
A.This includes Hermann von Bönninghausen and Paul Berger, who both died following th ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonczy, Lajos
1881 births
1915 deaths
Sportspeople from Szeged
Hungarian male high jumpers
Olympic bronze medalists for Hungary
Olympic athletes of Hungary
Athletes (track and field) at the 1900 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1904 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1906 Intercalated Games
Austro-Hungarian military personnel killed in World War I
Medalists at the 1900 Summer Olympics
Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field)
Olympic male high jumpers
Austro-Hungarian Army officers