Sport Centre
18-10-2007

TWENTY-SEVEN OLYMPICS PARTICIPANTS IN DEBRECEN

Debrecen was honoured with the fact that the delegation of Hungarian Olympic Champions’ Club visited to the city on 10th October. The twenty-seven(!) Olympic participants, „sports legends”, excellent sportsmen and sportswomen held their next meeting in Debrecen and they got acquainted with the sights of the city in a two days’ programme.

After visiting Déri Museum and Da Vinci exhibition they went even to the site of 11th European Short Course Swimming Championships – to the Sport Swimming Pool of the City - which will be arranged in December. Mr. Lajos Kósa and Mr. Mihály Orendi welcomed our champions there.

The Olympics participants who visited to Debrecen:
József Gelei(1964, football), Ferenc Németh (1960, pentathlon), dr. Imre Nagy (1960, pentathlon), Antal Szentmihályi (1964, football), Miklós Ambrus (1964, water-polo), János Varga (1968, wrestling) Olga Tass (1948,’52,’56,’60, gymnastics), Imre Polyák (1964, wrestling), Zoltán Dömötör (1964, water-polo), Kálmán Ihász (1964, football), Miklós Szalay (1968, football), Dezső Novák (1968, football), Antal Bolvári (1952,’56, water-polo), Tibor Tatai (1968, canoe), Kálmán Markovits (1952, 56, water-polo), dr. György Kárpáti (1952, ’56, ’64, water-polo), Mrs. Judit Mendelényi Ágoston (1964, fencing), Angéla Németh (1968, athletics-javelin), Ildikó Rejtő (1964, fencing), Mrs. Géza Tóth Katalin Juhász (1964, fencing), Ilonka Novák (1952, swimming), Mária Littomeritzky (1952, swimming), Iván Menczel (1968, football), Ferenc Mohácsi (1956, kayak), Ágnes Keleti (1952, ’56, gymnastics), Mrs. Erzsébet Reviczky Köteles (1956, gymnastics), István Szondy (1952, pentathlon).

Some words about the Hungarian Olympic Champions’ Club:
The proposal of sport historic importance was heard at the end of Olympic Games of 1992 in the ‘MOB’ general meeting for election of officials. The ageless „Butykó mester”, i.e. Dezső Lemhényi proposed to found the Olympic Champions’ Club. As the proposal had favourable reception, due to the legal assistance of the pentathlon Olympic champion, dr. István Móna, the statutes were established and in September 1993 the club being almost unique worldwide was set up. Mr. Pál Schmitt and Mr. Rudolf Kárpáti were chosen to be honorary chairmen, while Dezső Lemhényi who had the idea of the club was chosen to be the president. The club promised safeguarding of interests, legal counselling, health service, permanent and popular programmes but it set the most important aim: to improve the social situation of the champions because surveys show that the old Olympic champions’ average retiring pension is about or under the level of minimum of existence.
 
In 2003 after the death of the establisher, Dezső Lemhényi, who held double offices, the champions’ club chose Zoltán Dömötör to be the president, while the Olympic champion, the Athlete of the Nation, the lately died Gyula Zsivótzky was deputed to hold the president office of Advisory Board of Mező Ferenc Public Funds.