István Vaskuti, a New 'Athlete of the Nation'

67-year-old Olympic champion canoe paddler István Vaskuti has officially been named as the new ‘Athlete of the Nation’, according to a government decision published in the official gazette ‘Magyar Közlöny’.

The Athlete of the Nation group has 12 members. One of them, Olympic champion wrestler János Varga died this past December and the other members nominated István Vaskuti as the new member.

István Vaskuti won the canoe double 500-meter event at the 1980 Olympics and was the first vice-president of the International Canoe Federation as a sports administrator between 2008 and 2016. He is a ten-time world champion, has served on the board of the Hungarian Olympic Committee, has been a member of the Hungarian Immortal Athletes' Association since 1998, and was awarded the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary in 2006.

To be eligible for membership in the Athlete of the Nation group, a person must be over 60 years of age, having achieved outstanding results as a sportsman or woman, and having played an important role in the sporting life of the country even after his or her retirement.

The current members, in addition to István Vaskuti, are pentathlete András Balczó, table tennis player István Jónyer, sports shooter László Hammerl, table tennis player Mária Ivánkay, fencer Jenő Kamuti, gymnast Ágnes Keleti, gymnast Zoltán Magyar, chess player Lajos Portisch, fencer Ildikó Rejtő, fencer Pál Schmitt and waterpolo player Tamás Faragó.