Tamás Wichmann

Tamás Wichmann was 6-years-old when he was hit by a car and was in a coma for days. Following the accident, he had to use a walking splint for a year, which left him with a slight limp for the rest of his life. After his recovery, he took up sports, starting with boxing, but chose canoeing shortly afterwards. In 1962, he started training with MHS, VM Egyetértés and then competed in the colours of MTK.

Wichmann’s first major international success was a silver medal in the C-1 1000m at the 1966 World Championships and his second was also a silver medal in the same distance, but in C-2 at the Mexico City Olympics. He also won the Olympic C-1 silver medal at München in 1972 and C-1 bronze at Montreal in 1976. He won nine World Championship gold medals plus five silver and five bronze medals. He also won three European Championship golds. Wichmann won the Hungarian Championship 37 times, making him the most successful Hungarian performer in this sport. He participated in a total of four Olympics (1968-80), before ending his active career in 1983. After his retirement, he was selected as an Honorary Member of MTK, being honoured with a gold ring, and held various sports management positions in the canoeing department of the club.

Wichmann was awarded the Kayak-Canoe Athlete of the Year title five times and was also the Athlete of the Year. In 1979, he was awarded the UNESCO International Fair Play Prize for his selfless assistance to the Yugoslav canoeist, Matija Ljubek and remains the eternal champion of Hungarian canoeing.

Before becoming a racer, Wichmann was a trained cook. When it became clear that he could not participate in the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics due to the boycott, he began building his own business. In 1987, he opened Budapest’s first “alternative” pub. The pub was originally named after Saint Jupat, the patron saint of canoeists, but was later known as “Wichmann’s Pub”. The restaurant closed in 2018, after more than three decades.