Hungarian Olympic Committee Elects New President

The general assembly of the Hungarian Olympic Committee (MOB) elected this Saturday two-time Olympic champion kayaker Zsolt Gyulay as the new president of the organization.

The 57-year-old CEO of Hungaroring Sport Plc. received 34 votes from the 48 members present at the event, while the other candidate, Balázs Hajdu, lawyer and Olympic sailor, collected 14 votes. There were no invalid votes.

"I would like to thank Krisztián Kulcsár for his hitherto work as president, and while it is regrettable that it has turned out this way, on the other hand, it has made the membership think a bit about how to move forward," the new president said.

Zsolt Gyulay told the state news agency MTI after his election that he felt the media interest was greater now than when he won the Olympics in Seoul in 1988.

"The last few weeks have been stressful, but at times like this you have to step out of your comfort zone. At the same time, I must emphasize, as I told Balázs Hajdu, that the noble competition we have encouraged each other to compete in has been very good for the whole Olympic movement," he added.

"It's clear that I want to lead a well-functioning Olympic Committee, and the first step is to start working on the new statutes after the Beijing Winter Olympics. At the moment, the MOB has a truncated assembly, with no representatives from clubs, sports science, the Olympic Champions Club or the National Federation of Sports Associations, among others. I feel that they cannot be left out, and based on the discussions that have taken place, there is a great need for this," Zsolt Gyulay said.

The new MOB president said that if all goes well, he will leave on Tuesday for Beijing for the Winter Olympics, which start next Friday.

The current president, Krisztián Kulcsár, who was elected in 2017 and confirmed in June 2020, did not get a majority of support in the vote of confidence he initiated at the general assembly on 30 December 30, and resigned with effect from January 31.

Zsolt Gyulay will take up his duties as MOB President from February 1, and his mandate will run until the 2024 renewal General Assembly.