Róbert Söptei

Róbert Söptei was taken to the scouts by his father in 1936 because he was a very naughty child. As a Levente, he was introduced to kayaking and canoeing in 1941. At that time, the MOM established its kayaking department and became a member of it. In 1945, Söptei transferred to KASE, where he won the national championship in 10-man canoeing in 1946, 1949 and 1953. The following year, in 1950, he came first in the 1000 meters as a pair with József Laczkó. Together with his brother Ernő, they participated as the best Hungarian unit in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, finishing seventh in the 10,000 meters. From 1949, in addition to competing, he also worked as a coach at the VTSK.

In 1953 Söptei gave up active sports and continued as a coach. At the 1954 World Championships in Macon, his pupils Károly Wieland and József Halmai won the C-2 10,000 meters, while János Parti won the gold medal in the C-1 1000 meters. At the 1956 Olympics, Parti won the silver medal, and József Hunics won the bronze medal in the C-2 10,000 meters along with Imre Farkas. In 1957 Söptei became the head coach of the canoeists. In 1960 Parti finally became Olympic champion in the C-1 1000 meters, and Söptei accompanied him to Rome as a coach. He performed his coaching activities as a part-time job and worked as a mechanic alongside Parti.