Hungary

Hungary was one of the countries which attended the first Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens, although it was, in fact, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A National Olympic Committee was formed in Hungary in 1895 by Dr. Ferenc Kemény, who was one of the founding members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Hungary has missed only two Olympics, including the Olympic Winter Games, at which it has appeared at all celebrations. Hungary was not invited to the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, having been an aggressor nation in World War I, and Hungary chose not to attend the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Hungary has been very successful in a variety of sports, but by far its greatest honors have come in fencing. In one fencing discipline, the sabre, it has been the dominant nation, and in fact, between 1908 and 1960 Hungary won 9 of 11 team titles and 10 of 11 individual titles in this event. Through 2014, Hungary has won 496 Olympic medals, including 170 gold. All but six of these came at the Summer Olympics. Two Hungarian Olympians have won 10 medals: Ágnes Keleti in gymnastics and Aladár Gerevich in fencing. Gerevich won seven gold medals, while two Hungarians have won six gold medals: Pál Kovács and Rudolf Kárpáti, both in fencing.