 2008 Beijing Highlights
- Hungarian Swimming continues its Medal-Winning Legacy!
- Laszlo Cseh wins 3 silver medals!
- Rebecca Soni claims gold in record time! Hungarian-American Rebecca Soni (Szőnyi) set the world record in the 200m Breaststroke. She also took home 2 Silver Medals in the 100m breaststroke and the 4x100m medley relay. Known to her family and friends as “Reb” and born in Freehold Borough, New Jersey, Rebecca is the daughter of Peter and Kinga Soni from Kolozsvár (now a part of Rumania after annexation at the tragic Treaty of Trianon in 1920)!
- Hungarian kayak / canoe also repeats its medal performance with Gold, Silver, and Bronze!
- Attila Vajda takes Gold!
- Natasa Janics and Katalin Kovacs repeat Gold!
- The brothers Michal (Mihály) and Richard Riszdorfer and Juraj (György) Tarr win Silver for Slovakia in the K-4 1000m! All are from Komárom, now a part of Southern Slovakia after the tragic Treaty of Trianon in 1920.
- Legendary Hungarian Waterpolo repeats Gold Medal performance (winning second of unprecendented three repeat Olympic Gold Medals)!
Medal |
Name |
Event |
|
Rebecca Soni |
Swimming: 200m Breaststroke  WR! |
|
Attila Vajda |
Canoeing, Men's C-1 1000 m |
|
Natasa Janics |
Canoeing, Women's K-2 500 m |
|
Katalin Kovács |
Canoeing, Women's K-2 500 m |
|
Susan (Zsuzsanna) Francia |
Women's Rowing 8 |
|
Tibor Benedek |
Men's Waterpolo |
|
Péter Biros |
Men's Waterpolo |
|
Rajmund Fodor |
Men's Waterpolo |
|
István Gergely |
Men's Waterpolo |
|
Tamás Kásás |
Men's Waterpolo |
|
Gergely Kiss |
Men's Waterpolo |
|
Norbert Madaras |
Men's Waterpolo |
|
Tamás Molnár |
Men's Waterpolo |
|
Ádám Steinmetz |
Men's Waterpolo |
|
Barnabás Steinmetz |
Men's Waterpolo |
|
Zoltán Szécsi |
Men's Waterpolo |
|
Tamás Varga |
Men's Waterpolo |
|
Attila Vári |
Men's Waterpolo |
|
Michal Riszdorfer |
Canoeing, Men's K-4 1000 m  |
|
Richard Riszdorfer |
Canoeing, Men's K-4 1000 m |
|
Juraj Tarr |
Canoeing, Men's K-4 1000 m |
|
Rebecca Soni |
Swimming: 100m Breaststroke |
|
Rebecca Soni |
Swimming: 4x100m medley relay |
|
László Cseh |
Swimming, Men's 200 m butterfly |
|
László Cseh |
Swimming, Men's 200 m individual medley |
|
Zoltán Fodor |
Wrestling, Men's Greco-Roman 84 kg |
|
Natasa Janics |
Canoeing, Women's K-4 500 m |
|
Katalin Kovács |
Canoeing, Women's K-4 500 m |
|
Danuta Kozák |
Canoeing, Women's K-4 500 m |
|
Gabriella Szabó |
Canoeing, Women's K-4 500 m |
|
Enikő Barabás |
Rowing, Women's Eight  |
|
Ildikó Mincza-Nébald |
Fencing, Women's individual épée |
|
Tamás Kiss |
Canoeing, Men's C-2 1000 m |
|
György Kozmann |
Canoeing, Men's C-2 1000 m |
- Read more on [Wikipedia]
- Search all
2008 medalists (magyarul / in Hungarian)
|
Featured
2008 Olympians
2000 - 2008 Hungarian Water Polo Team
 The Hungarian Water Polo Team is considered the world's top power in the history of water polo, having won 15 Olympic, 9 World Championship, 5 FINA World League, 8 FINA World Cup and 21 European Championship medals. Hungary are the current Olympic gold medalists, since the 2008 Olympic Games. [more on Wikpedia]
Blood in the Water: Hungary vs.
The Soviet Union...
Amid
all the tension caused by the Soviet invasion of Hungary, Hungary
and the Soviet Union met in a water polo match, one of the most famous
water polo matches in history.
The game was played in a packed stadium with many Hungarian-born Australians
in the crowd. In addition to the political tension it was also a crucial
game in terms of the water polo competition. If Hungary were to win
it would almost be assured of the gold medal.
The
match was rough from the beginning but became increasingly violent
after Hungary took a 4-0 lead in the second half.At one point a Hungarian
player, Ervin Zador, was heavily knocked by a Soviet
player and emerged from the pool with serious facial bleeding. The
crowd became enraged and police were called to prevent a riot. The
match was abandoned shortly before full time and Hungary was credited
with a victory.  This ultimately secured it the gold medal after the
completion of other matches.
Many of the Hungarian team were not able to return to their
homeland to rejoice in this victory, choosing instead to remain in
Australia or seek refuge in other countries rather than return to
their war-ravaged country.
 In 2007, the film "Freedom's Fury," (A szabadság Vihara) directed by Colin Gray and Megan Raney (The Sibs), was released. The critically acclaimed, hard-hitting feature documentary about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and the "Bloodiest Game in Olympic History," tells the story of the fateful moment in 1956 when Hungary explodes in a popular revolt and climaxes with the infamous water polo showdown between Hungary and the Soviets at the Melbourne Olympics. Now kno wn as the “Blood in the Water Match,” the documentary follows the journey of the Hungarian Olympic water polo team and its young star, Ervin Zador, who find themselves the unwitting focal point of the most politicized sports match ever played.
See Trailers of "Freedom's Fury" on YouTube or buy the film on AHF's Amazon store!
Click for larger images
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