10 out of 17 Medals Go to Hungarian Military Athletes at European Kayak Championships

Emese Kőhalmi, who recently joined the sports company, competed against one of her main rivals, Melina Andersson, in both the 1,000-metre and 5,000-metre single kayak events. This time, the Swedish world champion could not keep up with the Hungarian star’s pace. Kőhalmi, who is about to take her military oath, finished first in both events—a parallel to Zsófia Csorba’s achievement in the women’s 5,000-metre canoe race, who is also preparing for military service. The always cheerful young athlete greeted the sight of her boat—which had been damaged during transport—with a smile; exclaiming, “Duct tape fixes everything”. She confidently overcame the obstacle, and won the final.

In the men’s 5,000-metre single canoe race, Private First Class Balázs Adolf won the silver medal. In the women’s canoe doubles event, the pair of Corporal Bianka Nagy and Corporal Ágnes Kiss finished second in the 500-metre race. In the women’s single kayak 200-metre race, Corporal Anna Lucz stood on the second step of the podium. In the men’s competition of the same event, Corporal Gergely Balogh won the bronze medal after advancing to the final with a world-record time in a qualifying heat marked by a strong tailwind. Thus, in the singles kayak sprint event, we celebrate two medals thanks to Corporal Anna Lucz and Corporal Gergely Balogh. They have built a sense of community through their shared goals, values and private lives, and now they will celebrate their successes together.

Corporal Zsóka Csikós, who has been performing extremely well lately, finished third this time in the women’s single kayak 500-metre race. In the mixed C-4 500-metre canoe race, the quartet of Corporal Zsófia Csorba, Corporal Réka Opavszky, Corporal Kristóf Kollár, and Corporal Dániel Fejes took third place on the podium. In the men’s double canoe 500-metre race, the pair of Corporal Jonatán Hajdu and Corporal Dániel Fejes slid into third place.

The military athletes are not taking a break even after the European Championships. Supported by the HDF and enlisted for service, many of them continue to train for upcoming competitions alongside their schoolwork and basic training. Some of them, fulfilling their military duties, took part in military close-quarters combat training just two days after the competition at the Judo Centre of Budapest Honvéd Sports Club on Tüzér Street, led by Major Szabolcs Krizsán, commander of the HDF Sports Company.