The Most Famous

ATHLETES from Hungary

This page contains a list of the greatest Hungarian Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 257 of which were born in Hungary. This makes Hungary the birth place of the 12th most number of Athletes behind Netherlands, and Poland.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Hungarian Athletes of all time. This list of famous Hungarian Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Hungarian Athletes.

1. Aladár Gerevich (1910 - 1991)

With an HPI of 65.11, Aladár Gerevich is the most famous Hungarian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 36 different languages on wikipedia.

Aladár Gerevich (16 March 1910 – 14 May 1991) was a Hungarian fencer, regarded as "the greatest Olympic swordsman ever". He won seven gold medals in sabre at six different Olympic Games.

2. Zoltán Horváth (1937 - 2025)

With an HPI of 64.12, Zoltán Horváth is the 2nd most famous Hungarian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Zoltán Horváth (12 March 1937 – 12 June 2025) was a Hungarian sabre fencer. At the 1960 Olympics, he won the gold medal in the team competition, and the individual silver medal behind teammate Rudolf Kárpáti. Horváth also took part in the 1964 Olympics, placing fifth in the team competition. At world championships, his greatest success came in 1962, when he won the individual competition and placed second with the team. Horváth had already won two gold medals in the team competitions of the 1957 and 1958 world championships and gained a third in 1966. Horváth died on 12 June 2025, at the age of 88.

3. Ibolya Csák (1915 - 2006)

With an HPI of 63.98, Ibolya Csák is the 3rd most famous Hungarian Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Ibolya Csák (6 January 1915 – 9 February 2006) was a Hungarian athlete.

4. Rudolf Bauer (1879 - 1932)

With an HPI of 62.34, Rudolf Bauer is the 4th most famous Hungarian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Rezső Ignác Boldizsár "Rudolf" Bauer (2 January 1879 in Budapest – 9 November 1932 in Sósér, now part of the village Dunatetétlen) was a Hungarian athlete and the winner of the gold medal in the men's discus throw at the 1900 Summer Olympics. He won with 36.04 metres, a new Olympic record.

5. Ferenc Mohácsi (1929 - 2025)

With an HPI of 62.02, Ferenc Mohácsi is the 5th most famous Hungarian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Ferenc Mohácsi (25 October 1929 – 29 April 2025) was a Hungarian sprint canoeist who competed in the late 1950s. At the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, he won a bronze medal alongside Károly Wieland in the Canoe double (C-2) 1,000 m event. Mohácsi had begun his sporting career as a footballer and did not switch to canoeing until after World War II, when he was a college student. Mohácsi retired from active competition after the 1956 Games, but remained athletically active. Prior to the Games, he had been involved in skiing, and had to choose whether to pursue that sport or canoeing for the 1956 Olympic cycle. Afterwards, he practiced sport shooting and motorboating, and was involved in the administration of diving, including a stint as a member of the executive committee of the World Diving Association from 1972 through 1989. He also earned a degree in teaching physical education in 1966. Mohácsi died on 29 April 2025, at the age of 95.

6. Nándor Dáni (1871 - 1949)

With an HPI of 61.45, Nándor Dáni is the 6th most famous Hungarian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Nándor János Dáni (2 July 1871 – 30 December 1948) was a Hungarian athlete. Domestically, he represented multiple sports clubs in multiple sports such as athletics, cycling, and speed skating. During his career, he set two national records in athletics, one in the 100 yards and the other in the 880 yards. Later on, he was selected to compete for Hungary at the 1896 Summer Olympics. He was entered in four events but only competed in one, the men's 800 metres. There, he earned the silver medal with a time of 2:11.8, earning Hungary's first Olympic medal. Later on, he was elected a member of the Hungarian Athletics Association and became the chairman of a carbonic acid factory.

7. Miklós Németh (b. 1946)

With an HPI of 60.90, Miklós Németh is the 7th most famous Hungarian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Miklós Németh (born 23 October 1946) is a Hungarian Olympic champion and former world record holder in the javelin throw.

8. Imre Földi (1938 - 2017)

With an HPI of 60.77, Imre Földi is the 8th most famous Hungarian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Imre Földi (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈimrɛ ˈføldi]; 8 May 1938 – 23 April 2017) was a Hungarian weightlifter. Competing at a record of five Olympic Games, he won a gold medal in 1972 and silver medals in 1964 and 1968. During his career he set 21 world records, and after his retirement he coached his daughter to become a European champion. Földi earned numerous awards for his results and achievements, most notably he was named Weightlifter of the Century by the International Weightlifting Federation and was elected for Sportsperson of the Nation in Hungary.

9. Gyula Kellner (1871 - 1940)

With an HPI of 60.61, Gyula Kellner is the 9th most famous Hungarian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Gyula Richárd Kellner (April 11, 1871, in Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary – July 28, 1940, in Szolnok, Kingdom of Hungary) was a Hungarian athlete. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. Kellner was one of 17 athletes to start the marathon race (the first modern Olympic marathon). He finished in fourth place, but when the third-place finisher, Spiridon Belokas, was found to have covered a portion of the race by carriage, Kellner was awarded third place. His time was 3:06.35.

10. Éva Székely (1927 - 2020)

With an HPI of 60.30, Éva Székely is the 10th most famous Hungarian Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 33 different languages.

Éva Székely (3 April 1927 – 29 February 2020) was a Hungarian swimmer. She won the gold medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki and the silver medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics, set six world records, and won 44 national titles. She held the first world record in the 400 m individual medley in 1953.

People

Pantheon has 256 people classified as Hungarian athletes born between 1871 and 2003. Of these 256, 169 (66.02%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Hungarian athletes include Miklós Németh, Richard Thompson, and Tibor Tatai. The most famous deceased Hungarian athletes include Aladár Gerevich, Zoltán Horváth, and Ibolya Csák.