István Rózsavölgyi (30 March 1929 – 27 January 2012) was a Hungarian athlete who competed mainly in the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

Career

Rózsavölgyi was born 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 ...

. One of the star pupils of

Mihály Iglói Mihály Iglói (September 5, 1908 – January 4, 1998) was a Hungary, Hungarian distance running coach. Iglói coached runners such as Sándor Iharos, István Rózsavölgyi, László Tábori, Bob Schul and Jim Beatty. Counting both outdoors and in ...

, he entered 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 ...

held in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

as the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

holder over 1000 metres, 1500 metres and 2000 metres and was expected to be a leading contender for the

Olympic gold. However, outside circumstances shook the spirit of team Hungary.

Sándor Iharos Sándor Iharos (10 March 1930 – 24 January 1996) was a Hungary, Hungarian long-distance runner. Though unsuccessful in major competitions, Iharos ran List of world records in athletics, world records over multiple distances and is one of only t ...

, another superstar, was absent. Back home, the

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 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 ...

had just been quashed by the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

army. Rózsavölgyi failed to even make the final. The post-Olympic decision of Iglói and fellow 1500 m runner

László Tábori László Tábori (July 6, 1931 – May 23, 2018) was a Hungarian middle- and long-distance runner, best known for equalling the 1500 metres world record and placing 4th in that event at the 1956 Summer Olympics. Biography Early career and ...

not to return to Hungary was further bad news for Rózsavölgyi, who instead of training with a good friend and under a phenomenally successful coach and mentor had to continue his career essentially alone. However, he coped with this situation much better than Iharos, and stayed in world class form for another Olympiad. At the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, Rózsavölgyi got a partial revenge, winning the 1500 metres bronze medal in a time faster than his 1955 world record over the distance.

Death

Rózsavölgyi died on 27 January 2012, aged 82, due to heart and lung ailments.

References

External links

Obituary from European Athletics
1929 births 2012 deaths Hungarian male middle-distance runners World record setters in athletics (track and field) Olympic athletes for Hungary Olympic bronze medalists for Hungary Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Deaths from lung disease Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes from Budapest Hungarian Athletics Championships winners 20th-century Hungarian sportsmen {{Hungary-athletics-bio-stub