The world's oldest Olympic champion supports Budapest 2024

Last week, Mr. Sándor Tarics – member of the Olympic gold medal winner Hungarian men’s national water polo team at the Berlin Games in 1936 – celebrated his 102th birthday. Mr. Tarics, who has been living in San Fransisco for more than sixty years, is currently the world’s oldest Olympic champion.

In a phone interview made on the occasion of his birthday some days ago, the still active and lively gentleman expressed that he still follows closely the current news of Hungarian sports with the help of the internet, and he wholeheartedly supports the bid of Budapest for hosting the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.

"I am glad Budapest and Hungary is bidding to host the Olympics in 2024 and I am keeping my fingers crossed and hope that the bid will be successful. I believe that sport is a field of life that creates harmony and friendship through competition. I think it is great when nations around the world compete with each other for a sports-related cause."

The 102-year-old former water polo player is a recognized and very successful architect in the United States: Tarics was a pioneer in developing earthquake-proof constructions in a geographical area where this technology is vitally needed.

"The competition is always very tough. Look at my city, for example. I have been living in San Fransisco for a long time now. Everything is perfect here, the city has had lots of ambitions to host the Olympics in the past, but unfortunately it never had the chance to make it happen – said Tarics. "I would like to give advice to my fellow Hungarians, but as you can see from this example as well, it can hardly ever be foretold who the final winner of this close and many-faceted race will be."

For more information, contact:

Mr. Erik Siklós

Director of Marketing and Communications

+36 30 753 91 49

email: erik.siklos@mob.hu .

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