Kornélia Ihász

Kornélia Ihász started cycling at Ganz-Mávag, and after half-a-year she moved to Budapesti Honvéd, and later to Budapesti Építók. Between 1954 and 1960, Ihász won the Hungarian championship title six times in women’s road race. In 1960, Ihász was the first Hungarian female cyclist to participate at the World Championships, where she finished unplaced due to a flat tire.

After that, Ihász’s cycling career ended and, on the advice of her coach, she switched to speed skating. In 1960, at the age of 21, she put on skates for the first time, and a year later she won the Hungarian championship. Then, until 1972, Ihász won a total of ten more individual championship titles. In 1972, Ihász was named the female speed skater of the year in Hungary. Between 1961 and 1972, as a member of the Hungarian national team, Ihász participated at the World Championships four times and also appeared at the first women’s European Championship. In 1964, in Innsbruck, she was the first Hungarian female speed skater at the Olympics.

Ihász retired in 1973 and continued working as a skating coach for Volán SE. Emese Nemeth-Hunyady, who was an Olympic, World, and European champion for Austria, was also her student.

Personal Bests: 500 – 48.7 (1968); 1000 – 1:38.8 (1972); 1500 – 2:32.1 (1969); 3000 – 5:23.5 (1966).