Imre Pulai (born November 14, 1967, in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

) is a Hungarian

sprint canoeist Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race in specially designed sprint canoes or sprint kayaks on calm water over a short distance. Prior to November 2008, canoe sprint was known as flatwater racing. The term is still in use today ...

, who won two Olympic medals in the Canadian canoeing event, including a gold medal at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

with teammate Ferenc Novák. As a twenty-year-old, Pulai reached the C-1 1000 m final at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

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, finishing in sixth place. However, it was not until

five years later ''Five Years Later'' is a collaborative album by American jazz guitarists Ralph Towner and John Abercrombie (guitarist), John Abercrombie, recorded in March 1981 and released on ECM Records, ECM February the following year.world championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

gold medals - in the C-4 1000 m in

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. In

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, he retained that title and a year later, he was individual world champion, ending Ivans Klementjevs's run of five straight victories in

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. That achievement earned him the title of 1995 Hungarian Sportsman of the Year. At the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

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, he won the C-1 500 m bronze medal. After Atlanta, his career took another dip until he teamed up with Ferenc Novák in the C-2. In

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, their first season together, the pair were world silver medalists and went on to win the C-2 500 m gold medal at the

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. When the two were paired up, they became known as "The Monster and the Little Guy" because of the size differential between them (Pulai was and weighed while Novák was and weighed .). In

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

Pulai won his fourth world championship gold in the C-4 1000 m at

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and he won also his second bronze medal in the C-4 500 m event. Most assumed that would be the final medal of his long career, but in 2006 he made a comeback at the 2006 European Championships, held in Račice, Czech Republic, winning a C-4 500 m bronze medal. At the age of thirty-eight he was the second-oldest male competitor. Pulai is nicknamed "Sumák". In February 2008, Pulai met with the

International Luge Federation The International Luge Federation (French language, French: ''Fédération Internationale de Luge'' (FIL); German language, German: ''Internationaler Rennrodelverband'') is the main international federation for all luge sports. Founded by 13 nat ...

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to help promote

luge A luge () is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds Supine position, supine (face-up) and feet-first. A luger begins seated, propelling themselves initially from handles on either side of the start ramp, then steers by using the Ca ...

in his native

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

which Pulai started competing in 2005. At the

FIL European Luge Championships 2010 The FIL European Luge Championships 2010 took place 19 – 24 January 2010 in Sigulda, Latvia for the second time, hosting the event previously in 1996. Festivities The opening ceremonies took place on 22 January 2010 at 19:00 EET. Award c ...

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, he finished 34th in the men's singles event.

Awards

* Hungarian canoer of the Year (1): 1994 * Hungarian Sportman of the Year (1) - votes of sports journalists: 1995 ;Orders and special awards * Cross of Merit of the Republic of Hungary – Silver Cross (1996) * Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary – Officer's Cross (2000)

References

*
Olympic champion in canoeing Imre Pulai tries luge.
at the

Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course The International Luge Federation ( French: ''Fédération Internationale de Luge'' (FIL); German: ''Internationaler Rennrodelverband'') is the main international federation for all luge sports. Founded by 13 nations at Davos, Switzerland in 195 ...

(19 February 2008 article accessed 8 December 2009.) * *
Kataca.hu Profile
* * Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Canoeing: Men's Canadian Pairs 500 Meters". In ''The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition''. London: Aurum Press Limited. p. 482.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pulai, Imre 1967 births Canoeists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Hungarian male canoeists Hungarian male lugers ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in Canadian Living people Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Hungary Olympic canoeists for Hungary Olympic gold medalists for Hungary Olympic medalists in canoeing Canoeists from Budapest 20th-century Hungarian sportsmen