Imre Farkas

Imre Farkas started his sports career as a gymnast and later moved to the water. He was first a swimmer, but then switched to kayak and later canoe. He achieved his first success at the 1951 Hungarian Youth Championship, where he won the C2-500 alongside Lajos Mészáros. Shortly afterwards Farkas competed with József Hunics and they had a chance to win at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. However, their boat broke during transport, so they raced in a loaner but still managed to win bronze in the C2-10K event.

At the 1960 Roma Olympics, Farkas was competing for his new affiliation of FTC with a new partner, András Törő. This time, they easily qualified for the C2-1000 final, but in the final their boat was released late, costing them valuable seconds, although they still managed to win bronze. Shortly before the Roma Games, Farkas was diagnosed with a serious heart problem, so he trained and competed in the Olympics at his own risk. Because of the excessive risks and in order to preserve his health, Farkas, retired at the age of only 25.

After his sports career he moved to totally new fields. He was first a writer and poet, and then ended up with painting. He signed his pictures under his artist name of András Kassai-Farkas, which comes from his father’s double family name and his own second name. In 2002, he officially changed his name. As a painter, several successful exhibitions were associated with his name. Religion also played a central role in his life, as he was a Pentecostal pastor who preached for many years, while his health allowed.