György Szepesi’s frenetic broadcast of one of the most exciting and highly stressful matches of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the Hungarian-Soviet men’s water polo match, still lives on as a vivid memory in the hearts of sports fans. Who doesn’t remember the inimitable broadcast, those seconds that seemed like long minutes, when György Szepesi really demanded from the excellent left-handed Hungarian player: “Shoot, Dömötör, shoot!” …
It is well-known that György Szepesi made Zoltán Dömötör immortal with his legendary challenge, who, although he did not shoot, but dropped, won against the Soviets 5-2 with his arched goal, and the Hungarian won the gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. t-shirt team.
“Zoltán Dömötör was a true legend, an icon, who unfortunately left us here on November 20, 2019, at the age of 85,” said municipal representative Attila Csoma after the swimming pool opening ceremony, from whom we also learned that the municipality based on his proposal chose Zoltán Dömötör as the namesake of the new swimming pool.
– Zoltán Dömötör is a real role model, who was an Olympic and European champion water polo player and European gold medalist swimmer. Perhaps few people know – he cites the sports career of the legendary water polo player – that he started his career as a swimmer, and at the age of 19, in 1954, in Turin, he was a member of the 4×200 freestyle relay that won the European Championships. Only later did he switch to water polo, where, using his swimming skills and being left-handed, he quickly became one of the best.
He played in 116 matches for the national team, in his greatest form at the Tokyo Olympics, when he also scored the goal securing the gold medal. Before that, he was a member of the Hungarian team that reached the bronze medal in Rome and then in Mexico City, and he was also a member of the European champion team in Budapest in 1958 and then in Leipzig in 1962. He was the president of the Olympic Champions Club from 2004 to 2012.
Zoltán Dömötör’s sports career and life path were exemplary, he was an individual whose performance is a fine example for today’s youth – stated Attila Csoma, who expressed his joy that the family living in Solymár supported the city’s request from the first word, his widow and daughter welcomed him with great joy to name Dunakeszi’s new swimming pool after Zoltán Dömötör. I am happy that the family supported our request and honored the opening ceremony with their personal presence – added Attila Csoma.
– I was a four-year-old girl at the time of my father’s fantastic victory in Tokyo, so I didn’t really understand how much joy they brought to Hungary – the immortal water polo player’s daughter, Erzsébet Dömötör, who came to the ceremony with her mother and her daughter in blessed condition, shared with us.
– When I started growing up, I, like the family, was terribly proud of my father and the teammates of the Olympic champion. I was also constantly in the swimming pool, sport was our life. By the way, both mother and father swam, they had the same coach, so they met. Mom was 15 and dad was 18, sports gave birth to love. We lived in the pool, the water polo players often threw me instead of the ball – said Erzsébet Dömötör, who also revealed that she also started competitive sports as a swimmer.
– I swam competitively until I was fourteen, but when my father coached in Algeria, I stopped because the standard of swimming there was very low. It didn’t make sense to continue competitively, so I focused on something else, I was preparing for civilian life – said Erzsébet Dömötör, who expressed her thanks and gratitude on behalf of her mother and the whole family for naming the new municipal sports pool after Dunakeszi’s father, Zoltán Dömötör.
– We feel very honored that dad can be the namesake of the swimming pool, thanks to which his legend lives on. My mom regularly cries when she hears us talk about it. My father would also be very proud of him, who, as always, would tell us to love sports, which will make us true people. Dunakeszi made us happy that a sports facility was named after my father for the first time in the country. We want the people of Dunakes to love sports and swimming, which gives us a great chance to live a full, healthy life – were the heartfelt words of Erzsébet Dömötör.
Imre Vetési
2024-10-16 07:42:00