Gyula Pálóczi (13 September 1962 – 28 January 2009) was a Hungarian athlete who specialized in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

and

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...

. 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 court A carpet court is a type of tennis court. The Intern ...

, and due to his versatility the

European Athletic Association The European Athletic Association (EAA, more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. European Athletics h ...

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 Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. 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 A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

. 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 commonly 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 ...

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 nineteen countries: fifteen from the Eastern Bloc led by the Soviet Union, w ...

. 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 and two centimetres ahead of fourth placer Ján Leitner. 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 Hungary, Hungarian long jumper. He was born in Miskolc. He finished fifteenth at the 1989 European Indoor Championships in Athletics, 1989 European Indoor Championships and twelfth at the 1989 IAAF W ...

. 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,

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. 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 20th-century Hungarian sportsmen