Pál Kovács (17 July 1912 – 8 July 1995) was a Hungarian athlete, who began as a

hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

, but eventually switched to

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...

. By the time Kovács won his first fencing gold, in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

, he had already been a member of the winning Hungarian team at the 1933 World Championships. The Hungarians won team sabre gold in five successive Olympics, lasting from 1936 until

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

. The same team won gold eight back-to-back world championships (including the two Olympics, which double as world championships in their respective years). Kovács also won individual gold in 1952, as well as individual bronze in 1948. In 1980, he became vice-president of the

Fédération Internationale d'Escrime The ''Fédération Internationale d'Escrime'' ( en, International Fencing Federation), commonly known by the acronym FIE, is the international governing body of Olympic fencing. Today, its head office is at the Maison du Sport International ...

. He died in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

in July 1995.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kovacs, Pal 1912 births 1995 deaths Hungarian male hurdlers Hungarian male sabre fencers Olympic fencers of Hungary Fencers at the 1936 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Hungary Olympic bronze medalists for Hungary Olympic medalists in fencing Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Debrecen

See also

References