Antal Bolvári (6 May 1932 – 8 January 2019) was a Hungarian

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

player who competed in the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

and in the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

Early life

Born in

Kaposvár Kaposvár (; also known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in southwestern Hungary, south of Lake Balaton. It is one of the leading cities of Transdanubia, the capital of Somogy County, and the seat of the Kaposvár District and th ...

, Bolvári was part of the Hungarian team that won the gold medal in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki. He played in six matches and scored one goal. Four years later, at the Melbourne Olympics, he was again a member of the Hungarian team that won the gold medal. He played in four matches and scored two goals, including one in the infamous

Blood in the Water match The "Blood in the Water" match ( lit. ''Blood bath of Melbourne''; ) was a water polo match between Hungary and the USSR at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. The semi-final match took place on 6 December 1956 against the background of the recent Hu ...

against the USSR in the championship round, held a few weeks after the Soviets had crushed the

1956 Hungarian uprising The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 4 November 1956; ), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the policies caused by ...

. Bolvári was one of several Hungarian athletes who defected to the West in the aftermath of the Melbourne games. He later returned to Hungary, where he continued to play and, later, coach at the club and national levels. He died in Budapest on 8 January 2019, as a result of a "a long, undisclosed illness", according to his family members.

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* 1932 births 2019 deaths Hungarian male water polo players Olympic water polo players for Hungary Water polo players at the 1952 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Hungary Sportspeople from Kaposvár Olympic gold medalists in water polo Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Hungarian defectors 20th-century Hungarian sportsmen {{hungary-waterpolo-bio-stub

Early life

See also

References

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