Sarolta Monspart (17 November 1944 – 24 April 2021) was a Hungarian

orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a s ...

competitor. In 1972 she became the first non-Scandinavian female runner to win the World Orienteering Championships.World Orienteering Championship, senior statistics 1966-2006
She is considered to be the most successful orienteer in Hungary. During her active years she won 14 national orienteering championships and six

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

championships. She was the first European woman to finish the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

distance within 3 hours. Her sport career was stopped because of a serious

encephalitis Encephalitis is inflammation of the brain. The severity can be variable with symptoms including reduction or alteration in consciousness, headache, fever, confusion, a stiff neck, and vomiting. Complications may include seizures, hallucinations, ...

inflammation caused by a tick. After recovering from the disease, she became an advocate for women to live a healthy life. According to

Tünde Szabó Tünde Szabó (born May 31, 1974, in Nyíregyháza, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg) is a Hungarian retired female swimmer and politician. Aged eighteen she won a silver medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, one at the 1991 World Champi ...

, she was responsible for hundreds of thousands of Hungarian women participating in various sports. In 2003 she received a medal for lifetime merit from Ferenc Mádl, president of Hungary. Monspart died in 2021 after a long, serious illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monspart, Sarolta 1944 births 2021 deaths Hungarian orienteers Female orienteers Foot orienteers World Orienteering Championships medalists Sportspeople from Budapest