Ferenc Mohácsi began his sporting career as a footballer and did not make the switch to canoeing until after World War II, when he was a college student. He soon demonstrated an aptitude for this new sport, however, coming in third in the K-1 500 at the Hungarian junior national championships in 1947. One year later, he joined the senior national team and began competing internationally for Hungary in 1949. It was not until 1956 in Melbourne, however, that he was selected to represent his country at the Olympics. There he won a bronze medal in the C-2 1000 alongside Károly Wieland.
Mohácsi retired from active competition after the Games, but remained athletically active. Prior to the Games he had been involved in skiing, and had to make a choice whether he would pursue that sport or canoeing for the 1956 Olympic cycle. Afterwards, he practiced sport shooting and motorboating, and was involved in the administration of diving, including a stint as a member of the executive committee of the World Diving Association from 1972 through 1989. He also earned a degree in teaching physical education in 1966.
Hungary