József Dobronyi

József Dobronyi began his sports career in 1936 with the BSzKRt. However in 1937, his first senior year, he was unsuccessful and lost so much motivation that he stopped athletics in the fall. He did not do any competitive sports at all for seven years.

After World War II Dobronyi started again with the Bp-i Előre team and became the most successful Hungarian marathon runner of the 1950s. He won the individual championship five times, the team championship three times, and improved the national record seven times from 25km to the marathon distance. He achieved his last national record and individual championship title at the age of 43.

Between 1954 and 1955 Dobronyi competed as an athlete for Bp. Törekvés, and then for Vasas until the end of his career. From 1952 to 1960 he also competed for the Hungarian national team. His greatest success was at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics when he finished seventh in the marathon, the fourth best European. In his civilian life Dobronyi worked as an official for the Budapest Transportation Company.

Personal Best: Mar – 2-26:10 (1956).