Gejza Valent

Gejza Valent was a Czechoslovak track and field athlete who competed in the discus throw during the 1980s. Valent was a talented sportsman but had the bad luck to be competing at the same time as his compatriot Imrich Bugár. Valent won his first medal at the national championships in 1981 when he finished second to Bugár. This result would be repeated on multiple occasions throughout the decade before he eventually won the Czechoslovak title in 1987 and 1989. In 1983 Valent had his best performance at an international competition when he won bronze at the World Athletics Championships in Helsinki. His consistent performances at the European and World championships earned him a place on the Olympic team for the 1988 Seoul Games where he finished sixth, well ahead of his great rival Bugár who only managed 12th. His father Gejza Valent, Sr. was also a discus thrower, having won bronze at the 1954 World Student Games in Budapest.

Personal Best: DT – 69.70 (1984).