In 1936, István Kolnai started kayaking in the colors of the Magyar Kajak Egylet. The birth of Hungarian kayaking is actually due to the Berlin Olympics. In the 1936 unofficial Hungarian championship, which was a qualifier for the Olympic team, he and his club partner Tibor Poór won first place in the 10,000 metre folding kayak doubles, so they earned the right to start the Olympics, albeit at their own expense. At the Berlin Olympics, they finished 12th out of 13th teams in the 10K race for the folding K2.