Tamás Homonnay

Tamás Homonnay began his sports career in 1941 in the colours of MAC. Like many of his contemporaries World War II interrupted his career. From 1946 to 1956 Homonnay continued with Vasas, and between 1949 and 1956 won the Hungarian pole vault championship eight times in a row, and improved the national record five times, reaching a then remarkable 4.35 metres at the European level.

Between 1948 and 1956 Homonnay competed for the Hungarian national team 31 times. At the World University Championships in Budapest in 1954 he won the gold medal with a clearance of 4.20 metres. At the 1952 Helsinki Olympics he placed 11th with a jump of 4.10 metres, and at the 1954 Bern European Championships, he placed fifth with a jump of 4.30 metres.

In 1948 Homonnay earned a doctorate in law from Pázmány Péter University. Between 1951 and 1956 he worked as a lawyer at the Budapest Freight Company and then at the Népstadion Company. In 1956, after the defeat of the Hungarian revolution, he settled in the United States. In 1960 he earned a degree in economics from New York University and held leading positions in various American companies. During his life overseas Homonnay tried to maintain close contact with Hungarian sports life; swimmers and tennis players often visited him during their American competitions and enjoyed his hospitality.

After his death in 2013, the pole vault event of the Hungarian championships was also known as the Dr. Tamás Homonnay Memorial Competition.

Personal Best: PV – 4.35 (1955).