Pál Szekeres (born 22 September 1964) is a retired
Hungarian foil and sabre
fencer. He has the distinction of being the first person to have won medals at both the
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...
and
Paralympic Games
The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disability, disabilities. There are Winter Paralympic Games, Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 ...
.
["Hungarian Paralympic athlete Pal Szekeres's goal is to win gold"](_blank)
, Xinhua, 3 September 2008
International Paralympic Committee["BBC Sport"](_blank)
2 September 2012
Career in sport
Szekeres
represented Hungary 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 ...
in
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 ...
, and won a bronze medal in the
team foil event.
In 1991, he was injured in a bus accident, and used a wheelchair. He then took to
wheelchair fencing
Wheelchair fencing (also called Parafencing) is a version of fencing for athletes with a disability. Wheelchair fencing is governed by the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation that is a federation of the International Paralymp ...
. Described as "the most successful Paralympic athlete in Hungary",
he won a gold medal in foil at the
1992 Summer Paralympics
The 1992 Summer Paralympics (; ) were the ninth Paralympic Games to be held. They were held in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. In addition, the 1992 Paralympic Games for Persons with mental handicap were held immediately after the regular Paralymp ...
in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, two gold at the
1996 Games in
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 ...
, a bronze in
2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
,
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
, and
2008
2008 was designated as:
*International Year of Languages
*International Year of Planet Earth
*International Year of the Potato
*International Year of Sanitation
The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
. Outside the Paralympic Games, Szekeres participated in the Wheelchair Fencing World Cup in 2006, winning a bronze medal in the individual sabre event. He has also been European Champion, notably winning gold in the individual sabre event at the European Championships in 2007. In 2008 he was ranked third in the world.
Career in government and administration
From 1999 to 2005, Szekeres was deputy state secretary within the Ministry of Children, Youth and Sports.
He was also Ministerial Commissioner and Senior Programme Officer tasked with a government programme to provide "equal opportunity through sport for people living with disabilities". From 1996 to 2000, he was a member of the Presidency of the International Wheelchair Fencing Committee.
From 2001 to 2005, he was "member at large" of the European Paralympic Committee, working in administration.
European Paralympic Committee News
September 2003 In 2005, he became President of the Hungarian Sports Federation for the Disabled. , Szekeres was a member of the Executive Committee of the National Paralympic Committee of Hungary, and was participating in the organising of the International Paralympic Sport Film Festival.
Szekeres has a university degree in physical education
Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...
as a coach, and also holds a degree in marketing communication
Marketing communications (MC, marcom(s), marcomm(s) or just simply communications) refers to the use of different marketing channels and tools in combination.Tomse, & Snoj, 2014 Marketing communication channels focus on how businesses communicate ...
.
See also
* List of athletes who have competed in the Paralympics and Olympics
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Szekeres, Pal
1964 births
Living people
Hungarian male foil fencers
Olympic fencers for Hungary
Fencers at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Olympic bronze medalists for Hungary
Olympic medalists in fencing
Paralympic wheelchair fencers for Hungary
Wheelchair fencers at the 1992 Summer Paralympics
Wheelchair fencers at the 1996 Summer Paralympics
Wheelchair fencers at the 2000 Summer Paralympics
Wheelchair fencers at the 2004 Summer Paralympics
Wheelchair fencers at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Paralympic gold medalists for Hungary
Paralympic bronze medalists for Hungary
Wheelchair fencers at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1992 Summer Paralympics
Medalists at the 1996 Summer Paralympics
Medalists at the 2000 Summer Paralympics
Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Summer World University Games medalists in fencing
FISU World University Games bronze medalists for Hungary
Paralympic medalists in wheelchair fencing
Medalists at the 1987 Summer Universiade
Hungarian male sabre fencers
Fencers from Budapest
MEPs for Hungary 2024–2029
Fidesz MEPs
20th-century Hungarian sportsmen