Erdélyi magyar sportolók az 1984-es olimpián
Transylvanian Hungarian Athletes at the 1984 Olympics

Summary/Abstract: The efficiency of Hungarian sport is reflected in the excellent results of its athletes at the Olympic Games and other international competitions. Our athletes have stood on the highest step of the Olympic podium 184 times under the Hungarian tricolor, and they have also won 158 second and 183 third places. Even before the outbreak of the First World War, it was evident that, apart from Budapest, substantial sporting activities were thriving in major cities across the country, including Transylvania, Upper Hungary and the region of Délvidék, and many outstanding athletes emerged from these local workshops to the Olympic Games. After the First World War, however, many athletes faced a psychological dilemma due to the newly established borders, because if they did not want to leave their homes, they could only compete internationally in the colors of other nation states. Many Hungarian athletes from Transylvania were admitted to the Romanian national teams already in the interwar period, although Romanian sports life only showed significant results at international level from the 1980s. Ironically, despite the Soviet Union-led Eastern Bloc’s Olympic boycott in 1984, many Hungarian athletes were allowed to participate in the Los Angeles Olympics, winning Olympic medals for Romania.

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