SZILAGYI Aron

Personal Information

Family Wife Beata, one son

Occupation Athlete

Languages English, French, Hungarian

Higher education International Relations - Eotvos Lorand University: Budapest, HUN

License number 14011990000

Club

Upcoming Events

Sport Specific Information

When and where did you begin this sport? He took up the sport at age nine at Vasas SC in Budapest, Hungary.

Why this sport? His mother took him to the Vasas fencing club in Budapest, Hungary.

Club / Team Vasas SC: Budapest, HUN

Name of coach Andras Decsi [national], HUN

Training Regime "I have around 10 or 11 training sessions a week. If it's a competition week, then it is less than that. When the most important competition of the year is approaching, like the world championships or the Olympics, we usually spend four or five weeks at training camps in order to forget the everyday problems of being at home."

Handedness Right

General Interest

Memorable sporting achievement Winning gold in individual sabre at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (olympics.com, 24 Jul 2021)

Most influential person in career His first coach Gyorgy Gerevich. (Athlete, 03 Oct 2011)

Hero / Idol Hungarian fencers Aladar Gerevich and Gyorgy Gerevich. (Athlete, 03 Oct 2011)

Injuries He injured his thigh while competing at the 2024 World Cup event in Budapest, Hungary. (m4sport.hu, 02 Apr 2024; 24.hu, 25 Mar 2024)

He injured his right ankle while competing at the 2015 European Championships in Montreux, Switzerland. (beac.hu, 15 Jun 2015)

Sporting philosophy / motto "I've been around for 20 years and I know that fencing will never be at the same level of popularity in Hungary as football or tennis or swimming. But I never started competing or became an Olympic champion to become famous. I fence because I love it, and I enjoy what I do. Our sport must become more marketable and accessible to the public [in order to grow], at the moment this is perhaps the greatest challenge for fencing." (origo.hu, 24 Jun 2019)

Awards and honours He and his national sabre teammates were named Team of the Year for 2023 in the individual sport category at the Sportsman of the Year awards in Hungary. He also received the International Fair Play Award for 2023. (vasassc.hu, 08 Jan 2024; hunfencing.hu, 08 Jan 2024; hungarianconservative.com, 16 Jun 2023)

In 2023 he was inducted into the International Fencing Federation [FIE] Hall of Fame. (vasassc.hu, 11 Oct 2023; civilek.info, 09 Sep 2023)

In 2023 he was awarded the Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen. (Facebook page, 22 Aug 2023)

In 2022 he received the Grand Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit. (Vasas SC Facebook page, 15 Mar 2022)

He was named the 2016 Male Athlete of the Year in Hungary. (indialivetoday.com, 13 Jan 2017)

He was flag bearer for Hungary at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (fie.org, 05 Aug 2016)

In 2012 he was named an honorary citizen of both Budapest and Hevizgyork in Hungary. (Facebook page, 30 Mar 2016)

He was named Hungarian Fencer of the Year in 2011 and 2012. (Facebook page, 30 Mar 2016)

Milestones He became the first fencer from any nation to win three individual sabre gold medals at the Olympic Games when he claimed his third gold at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. The victory also made him the first male fencer to win three individual gold medals in the same discipline at the Olympic Games. (olympics.com, 24 Jul 2021; SportsDeskOnline, 12 Apr 2022)

Ambitions To compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. (Facebook page, 15 May 2023)

Other information EVOLVING SPORT
Speaking in 2018, he said his fencing style had adapted in line with international fencing trends. "My great strength is my footwork, so I prefer longer duels as it allows me time to develop my game. However, the experience of international competitions shows that the trend is actually the opposite - 80 to 90% of fencers move in very quickly, and there is not much time to develop your action. Opponents lunge and you have to react very quickly, but fortunately I can adapt to this style. I have been fencing since I was nine, but there is always room for improvement, whether in terms of rhythm, speed, timing or footwork." (molcsapat.hu, 25 Feb 2018)

FLAG BEARER SUPERSTITION
When he was offered the chance to be Hungary's flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, he initially hesitated to accept due to a belief that had been held in Hungary that being flag bearer was bad luck. "We have had this superstition for 50 or 60 years, that at every Olympic Games the flag bearer will not receive a gold medal. It was true for 50 or 60 years. When the Hungarian Olympic Committee asked me if I would like to be the flag bearer, I asked for a couple of days to think about it. I talked to my coach. Of course I talked to my psychologist and my wife. We tried to figure out which is the better way to go. We thought that being the flag bearer could possibly enhance my confidence and boost my energy. So I accepted and did it and I was there at the opening ceremony bearing the flag with the team. I watched the video every day until the competition day. And it really worked. It gave me great additional energy. I watched this and I watched my last bout [at the 2012 Olympic Games] in London. It was a confidence boost." He went on to win gold in Rio. (academyoffencingmasters.com, 13 Jul 2020)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
In January 2017 he was elected president of the International Fencing Federation [FIE] Athletes' Commission, and he has also served as a member of the Hungarian Olympic Committee Athletes' Commission. In 2020 he became president of the fencing department of his club, Vasas SC in Budapest, Hungary. "I thought that since I have been an athlete of Vasas for more than 20 years and my second home is the Pal Kovacs Fencing Hall, I am happy to try to help the department in a new role. I have said before that I would like to remain in the world of sport after I stop competing, and I feel that the position of president of the division can be a good introduction and trial in this area, both for Vasas and for myself." (vasassc.hu, 11 Oct 2023; nemzetisport.hu, 14 Sep 2020; fie.org, 04 Jan 2017)