István Sárkány (; 5 August 1913 – 27 November 2009) was a Hungarian Olympics gymnast, judge, and gymnastics coach. He represented Hungary at the

1936 Berlin Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

at the age of 22. Sárkány participated in all men's gymnastic events with highs of 29th in the Rings and 31st in the Vault competitions. He placed 64th in the Men's All-around competition.

Career

Sárkány's personal gymnastics career was impacted by the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as the 1940 and 1944 Olympic Games were canceled due to said war. He was praised for his highly regarded career as a Hungarian and world gymnastics judge. Sárkány was noted in the official Olympic Game reports as judging the

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

Horizontal Bar competitions,

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

(no specific apparatus),

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 * Janu ...

Long Horse competitions, and

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

Horizontal Bars competitions. Although Olympic reports no longer listed individual judges afterwards, Sárkány was also believed to have judged the

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

and

1972 Summer Olympic Games The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

, respectively in Mexico City and Munich. Sárkány was honored in Hungarian gymnastics and sports hall of fames for his years of service. He was also featured in Hungarian sport documentaries, most notably on the

1956 Summer Olympic Games 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, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the except ...

. That Olympic Games were noted for the famous "

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 ...

" in water polo between Hungary and Russia as well as numerous Hungarian Olympic athletes that sought asylum rather than return to Hungary under Russian rule. Some athletes stayed in Australia. Others were welcomed in the United States and toured the country under a ''Sports Illustrated''-sponsored tour. Sárkány returned to Hungary to continue his storied judging and officiating career. Sárkány's obituary highlighted his contributions to Hungarian and Olympic gymnastics. Sárkány died on 27 November 2009.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sarkany, Istvan 1913 births 2009 deaths Hungarian male artistic gymnasts Olympic gymnasts for Hungary Gymnasts at the 1936 Summer Olympics 20th-century Hungarian sportsmen