Attila Solti (born 2 December 1966 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-Guatemalan sport shooter. Before his change of domicile to

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

, Solti had an extensive competitive career for 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 ...

in shooting. He won a total of twenty-nine medals in a major international competition, including two golds in both 10 and 50 m running target at

World Championships 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 ...

and had set two world records in just a single season. When he became a Guatemalan citizen in December 1992, Solti added two more golds to his career medal tally in the 10 m running target at the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

(1995 and 1999). Solti also competed in five editions of the Olympic Games under two different banners (Hungary in 1988 and 1992, and Guatemala in 1996 to 2004), and had been close to an Olympic medal in 1996 (finishing eighth in the running target). As the most experienced athlete of the Guatemalan team, Solti was also duly honored to carry the nation's flag twice in the opening ceremonies. Married to Guatemalan lady, he had 3 daughters.

Career

Solti began shooting at the age of fifteen as a resident athlete of Újpesti Sports Academy () in his native

. Solti competed internationally for

in 1986, when he set a junior world record of 588 in the 50 m running target at the European Championships, and then claimed his first ever Worlds title in

Suhl Suhl () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located SW of Erfurt, NE of Würzburg and N of Nuremberg. With its 37,000 inhabitants, it is the smallest of the six urban districts within Thuringia. Together with its northern neighbour-town Zella ...

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

few months later. Solti made his first ever Hungarian team 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 ...

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, finishing sixth in his only 50 m running target stint with a score of 588. In 1989, Solti was able to back up his Olympic feat by smashing a new running target record at 671.6 to successfully attain his second gold medal at the World Championships in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, erasing 7.3 points off his standard previously set at the World Cup meet in

Guatemala City Guatemala City (, also known colloquially by the nickname Guate), is the Capital city, national capital and largest city of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. It is also the Municipalities of Guatemala, municipal capital of the Guatemala Depa ...

. The 1990 and 1991 season witnessed the exceptional dominance of Solti in the international shooting scene, as he continued to yield more medals to his career tally, including three golds at the World Cup series and a bronze in his pet event at the Worlds. Solti's magnificent world-record feat clearly made him one of the favorites vying for the Olympic medal in the inaugural 10 m running target at his succeeding Games in Barcelona 1992, but slipped out of the final to a frustrating thirteenth with 569 points. Shortly after the Games, Solti left from his native

to coach and train young shooters in

for six months. Upon extending his contract to two years, he decided to settle there and had become a naturalized citizen of Guatemala. Today, Solti resides in

with his wife Maryla Girón, whom they got married in 1994, and their only daughter Nicole (born 1995). While staying in Guatemala, Solti works as a pilot for Cessna aviation force, a childhood dream that he has finally fulfilled for years. Solti's dual citizenship permitted him to compete for

on his first

Mar del Plata, Argentina Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Argentine Sea, Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón Partido, General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires ...

in 1995. There, he broke a ratified Games record of 676.8 for the running target to snatch the nation's first ever shooting gold medal, maintaining a tremendous lead over the rest of the Latin American shooters. Solti's early successes on his new team had continued 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, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, where he reached the Olympic final for the first time, rounding out the eight-man running target field to eighth at 667.0. Furthermore, Solti had a golden opportunity to carry the Guatemalan flag in the

opening ceremonies An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.

as the oldest and most experienced competitor of the team. At the

1999 Pan American Games The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games () or the 13th Pan American Games and commonly known as Winnipeg 1999, were a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23 to August 8, 1999, in Winnipeg, Ma ...

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, Solti shot brilliantly a 674.6 to defend his title in the 10 m running target, holding off a charge from U.S. marksman Armando Ayala with a sterling 2.4-point lead. Coming to Sydney 2000 as one of the favorites in the 10 m running target, Solti was expected to win Guatemala's first ever Olympic medal based on his outstanding achievements, but fell out of contention to a shameful tenth with a score of 572, just a single point away from the final cutoff. Shortly after his fourth Games, Solti sought a mighty redemption towards the end of the 2000 season, as he fired a blazing 679.3 to take the bronze at the World Cup final, trailing Germany's world record holder Manfred Kurzer and China's Olympic bronze medalist Niu Zhiyuan by a few points. Solti campaigned for a third straight victory in his pet event at the

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games, officially the XIV Pan American Games () and commonly known as Santo Domingo 2003, were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the Games was made in the mid-1990 ...

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

, but ruled out of the podium to a credible fourth with a score of 663.9. Although he failed to medal at his third Pan American Games stint and attain an Olympic quota place in most of the events, Solti was gradually invited by ISSF and the

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based in L ...

to take part on his fourth and last Olympics in

Athens 2004 Athens 2004 may refer to: * 2004 Summer Olympics * 2004 Summer Paralympics The 2004 Summer Paralympics (), the 12th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the Internati ...

. In the men's 10 m running target, Solti marked a modest 284 on the slow and 289 on the fast run to finish in tenth position with a total score of 573 points, repeating his feat from the previous Games. With the running target being officially removed from the Games in an effort to streamline the program, Solti decided to retire from competitive shooting career to focus on his personal life in

and profession as an aviator.

Olympic results

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Solti, Attila 1966 births Living people Hungarian male sport shooters Guatemalan male sport shooters Olympic shooters for Hungary Olympic shooters for Guatemala Shooters at the 1988 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 1992 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 1996 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 2000 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 2004 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 2003 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for Guatemala Hungarian emigrants to Guatemala Guatemalan people of Hungarian descent Sport shooters from Budapest Sport shooters from Guatemala City Shooters at the 1995 Pan American Games Shooters at the 1999 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists in shooting Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games 20th-century Hungarian sportsmen 20th-century Guatemalan sportsmen