Ottó Bonn

Otto Bonn was born in Italy in 1926 and lived there with his family until the age of 12, when they moved to Hungary. Living close to the sea during his time in Italy, he spent a lot of time paddling, and could be found on the water most days. In the early 1940s, Bonn became a member of the Levente SE in Budapest and, after World War II, joined Közalkalmazottak SE with whom he ended his sporting career in 1947. Bonn became secretary of the Hungarian Canoe Association (MKKSZ) in 1949 and, from 1951, worked at the re-organised National Committee for Physical Education and Sports. In this position, Bonn attended the 1952 Helsinki Games and witnessed the first ever Hungarian kayak/canoe Olympic medalists. Four years later, at Melbourne, he witnessed the first Hungarian Olympic champions, János Urányi and László Fábián.

Bonn was inducted onto the International Canoe Federation (ICF) board of directors at the Mâcon World Championships in 1954, when he was also elected as a European representative of the sport and served as the organisation’s second vice president from 1970-90. Also, for 12 years from 1988, Bonn was secretary-general of the ICF, during which time he did much to improve universal kayak canoeing and increase the membership of the International Federation.

During his long and extremely successful career as a sports administrator, Bonn enjoyed some significant appointments, not only in kayak-canoeing. In 1965 he became secretary-general of the organising committee of the Budapest Universiade, was involved in the Budapest Athletics Championships in 1966 and, from 1971, was a director of the Central Sports School (KSI). After his retirement he became the honorary secretary of the ICF, the honorary president of the MKKSZ, and the honorary member of the Hungarian Olympic Committee (MOB).