Over
the history of the Olympic Games a number of teams have reached such heights
that they can only be described as incredible. Tokyo 2020 revisits the stories
of these unforgettable teams and the star players that helped them light up the
Olympic Games. In the latest part of our series, we look back at Hungary’s
men's water polo team who dominated the pool in the 1950s.
How it
started
Hungary
has been a powerhouse of water polo since the introduction of the sport at the
Olympic Games. The statistics speaks for themselves: they've participated in 22
of 27 Olympic tournaments, winning nine gold, three silver and three bronze.
They were also on the Olympic podium without fail between 1928 and 1980. And
maybe even more remarkable, they won three golds in a row between 2000 and
2008.
So it
was not a surprise to see the Magyars, as Hungarian team were known, performing
well during post-World War II Olympic Games. At London 1948, the team earned a
silver medal and in Helsinki 1952, they won gold. But it was four years later
that the most famous water polo match of Olympic history took place between
Hungary and the USSR in Melbourne, creating a legend.
The
biggest win
For
once, the biggest win was not a final.
At
Melbourne 1956, the semi-final between the Soviets and Hungarians has become
the famous “blood in the water” game. A few days before the start of
the Olympic Games, a revolution began in Budapest, which was repressed by the
USSR. In such circumstances, the semi-final was obviously extremely tense
between the two countries.
However,
the Hungarians dominated the game, leading 4-0. But a few minutes before the
end of the game, Valentin Prokopov of the Soviet Union punched Hungarian player
Ervin Zador in the face, and there was “blood in the water” - quite literally.
The
match was stopped and Hungary declared the winner.
In the
final, which Zador could not play because of his injury, Hungary beat
Yugoslavia 2–1 to win their fourth Olympic gold medal.
The key
players
Beside
Zador, who scored five goals in four games in Melbourne in 1956 including two
in the famous “blood in the water” game against USSR, two legendary players who
were also part of the squad is Dezső Gyarmati, who earned five Olympic medals
in total (3 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze) and Gyorgy Karpati, who won four
medals (3 gold and 1 bronze).
Gyarmati
is often considered as the best water polo players in history. He was called
the “world’s fastest water polo player” (he could swim a 100m in 58.5 seconds),
ambidextrous, could play either back or forward, was a great scorer but also a
playmaker.
Karpati,
who unfortunately passed away in July this year, was a different kind of
player, as he described himself once in an interview: “I wasn’t the most gifted
player, I didn’t have the greatest skills and I didn’t have the usual big size.
But I wanted it more, much more than anybody else. Perhaps this was the key for
my success."
What
happened next?
The
reality is that many of the Hungarian water polo teams throughout history could
be considered “incredible”.
The
Magyars practically never stopped being successful at the Olympics, but some
teams were particularly impressive.
Led by
Tamás Faragó, Hungary earned Olympic medals in 1972, 1976 and 1980. Twenty
years later, they won three consecutive gold medals (between 2000 and 2008),
becoming only the second team to have an Olympic winning streak in water polo
(Great Britain being the other).
And
with players like Tibor Benedek, Tamas Kásás, Tamás Molnár or Gergely Kiss,
this team won everything possible in the 1998-2008 decade.
While
Hungary have not made it onto the Olympic podium since Beijing 2008, their
recent gold medal success at the 2020 European Championships, which saw them
qualify for Tokyo 2020, might just be the start of something new.
https://tokyo2020.org/en/news/incredible-teams-hungarys-50s-water-polo-team
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