Zoltán Magyar

Zoltán Magyar
— Gymnast —
Zoltán Magyar in 1967
Personal information
Country represented	Hungary
Born	13 December 1953 Budapest, Hungary
Height	165 cm (5 ft 5 in)
Weight	60 kg (132 lb)
Discipline	Men's artistic gymnastics
Club	Ferencvárosi TC, Budapest
Eponymous skills	Magyar spindle, Magyar travel
Medal record Olympic Games 1976 Montréal Pommel horse 1980 Moscow Pommel horse 1980 Moscow Team World Championships 1974 Varna Pommel horse 1978 Strasbourg Pommel horse 1979 Ft. Worth Pommel horse European Championships 1973 Grenoble Pommel horse 1975 Bern Pommel horse 1977 Vilnius Pommel horse

Zoltán Magyar (born 13 December 1953)^[1] was the world's leading pommel horse gymnast in the 1970s. In this event he won two Olympic, three world, three European and two World Cup titles. Magyar had two moves named after him, the Magyar spindle (turning the body in the opposite direction from the circling legs) and the Magyar travel (crosswise circling travel down the horse).

He won the Olympic gold in 1976 and 1980;^[2] world championships gold in 1974, 1978 and 1979;^[3][4] European championships gold in 1973, 1975 and 1977;^[5] and World Cup gold in 1975 and 1978. His largest margin of victory came at the 1978 World Championships, which he won by 0.375 points. For his achievements he was named Hungarian Sportsman of the year in 1974, 1978 and 1980.

In major all-around competitions, Magyar was ubiquitous but less successful. In Olympic all-around finals, he placed 29th in 1972, ninth in 1976 and ninth in 1980. In world championship all-arounds, he was 15th in 1974, 12th in 1978 and 18th in 1979.

Magyar retired following the 1980 Olympics. Since his departure, he has focused on his lifelong goal as a veterinarian. He currently operates a vet hospital and still resides in Budapest.

In May 2012, Magyar was inducted to the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.^[6]

References

1. "Zoltán Magyar Biography and Olympic Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
2. "Olympic Games Medallists – Gymnastics on". Gbrathletics.com.
3. "List of Gymnastics World Champions on the homepage of the 2007 World Championships". Usa-gymnastics.org.
4. Ralph Hickok (18 February 2009). "World Gymnastics Championships on". Hickoksports.com.
5. "List of medallists of the European Championships of Gymnastics Men Pommel Horse". Sports123.com.
6. "Torna: Magyar Zoltán a Halhatalanok Csarnokában" (in Hungarian). Nemzeti Sport. 16 May 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2012.

External links

• Zoltán Magyar at the International Federation of Gymnastics
• Legends of Gymnastics
• Zoltán Magyar on the 1976 Olympics on YouTube
• Zoltán Magyar on the 1978 World Championship on YouTube
• Zoltán Magyar on the hoempage of th Hungarian Olympic Committee