Gyula Kovács

Gyula Kovács wrestled for the BVSC throughout his entire youth career from 1934 to 1953, competing in both Greco-Roman and freestyle. He won his first adult national championship in 1938, and from then on — reaching a record that is unlikely to be broken — he was able to stand on the top step of the championship podium 25 times (21 individual and 4 team).

Between 1939 and 1951 Kovács wrestled for the national team 31 times. In 1950 at the Stockholm World Championships, he defeated all his opponents in the light-heavyweight category, but was stripped of the world championship title after a protest and was awarded a silver medal. In 1953 he also finished in a tie for fourth place in the light-heavyweight category in Naples. In 1947 he won a silver medal in the European Championships in Praha.

From 1948 to 1956 Kovács competed in three Olympics, finishing fourth in the light-heavyweight class at the 1948 London Games and fourth in the light-heavyweight class at the 1952 Helsinki Games. Four years later, however, he finished unplaced in Melbourne in 1956. After the Olympics he ended his career and continued as a coach. He worked as the head of the national team for two years, then for ten years at MTK. In the meantime, he was also the master of the youth national team, and under his guidance István Kozma and Csaba Hegedűs, among others, spread their wings.