István Adorján

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games
SexMale
Full nameIstván•Adorján
Used nameIstván•Adorján
Nick/petnamesDóri
Born12 November 1913 in Székesfehérvár, Fejér (HUN)
Died7 June 1987 in Mayfield Heights, Ohio (USA)
AffiliationsSzékesfehérvári MÁV Sportegyesület
NOC Hungary

Biography

István Adorján started cycling in the colors of MÁV Székesfehérvár in 1929. In 1935, he placed third in the Tour de Hongrie, and in 1936, he won the 100 km road race championship. He competed at the 1936 Berlin Olympics in the road race, where he was involved in a crash and did not finish.

Back in 1935, when he first heard about the Olympic torch relay, Adorján decided to accompany the Olympic torch by bicycle from Olympia to Berlin. He made calculations, worked out a roadmap, and saved some money for the journey. The task was not easy, as he would have had to cover 2,941 km in 10 days with almost no rest; however, his request was rejected by the Hungarian Cycling Association.

In World War II. Adorján fought on the Eastern Front and in 1942 finished a bicycle race in a Russian city on the battlefield. The first prize was a bottle of liqueur and two weeks off. After returning to Hungary from the front, he won two championship titles in 1943 on the track. After the end of World War II, he was the sport manager of the Balaton District in the Hungarian Cycling Association, but after the defeat of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, he emigrated to the United States.

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1936 Summer Olympics Cycling Road (Cycling) HUN István Adorján
Road Race, Individual, Men (Olympic) AC
Road Race, Team, Men (Olympic) Hungary AC