Sport Centre
18-10-2007
Budapest (HBN – K.E.)

Last honours of Gyula Zsivótzky

His soul flied like once his hammer did
Gyula Zsivótzky Olympic champion hammer thrower was placed to his last repose on Friday in ‘Óbudai’ cemetery.

Notabilities and admirers of home sports life paid their tribute of respect with deep sympathy at the catafalque of Gyula Zsivótzky in Basilica. While hundreds of colleagues were putting the flowers of reverence, very good moments of the Olympic champion’s life were shown on a projector.  

After the conciliatory holy mass of the rite of Roman Catholic Church, first men of the state and sport leaders delivered their funeral speech of the Athlete of the Nation. Ms. Mónika Lampert Minister, Mr. Pál Schmitt president of MOB and dr. Ágoston Schulek the vice-president of Hungarian Athletics Association appreciated his successfulness, humanity which is exemplary and unforgettable for the succeeding generations. The Mayor of Kiskunfélegyháza expressed his thanks to the departed freeman of the city for the fame and much help.

After the rite in Basilica, funeral rite went on in ‘Óbudai’ cemetery where mainly friends recalled good time with the departed. Values of the Athlete of the Nation could be expressed well with the Cicero quotation chosen by Mr. László Benczúr: “death is frightful for those people for whom everything ends with earthly existence. But not for those whose glorious name is never-fading.” At the grave his wife, the high-jumper Hungarian champion Magdolna Komka, his sons, the football player European champion Gyula, and the presently most successful Hungarian athlete, the decathlete of Debrecen Sport Centre, Attila, took leave broken-heartedly of the hammer-thrower, who spent 200 days in hospital. Following the solemn appreciations, the grave was full with the flowers of the persons commemorating him, among them there were the floral tributes of Debrecen Sport Centre and Sport School, Athletics Association of Hajdú-Bihar county and Bihari Athletics Judges.

Picture: last honours of the athlete of the 20th century

Photo: Erzsébet Kiss