Sebestyén Schmidt was born in Arad in 1901 and became acquainted with cycling there. In 1923 he won the championship of the city of Arad. One year later he moved to Budapest, where he competed as an athlete of Világosság KK. In the same year, to everybody’s great surprise, he won the 100km road championship. In 1925, he defended his championship title and participated in the World Championships in Amsterdam. Two years later, due to financial problems, he stopped racing and set off on a bicycle trip around the world. At the beginning of the tour he cycled all over Europe, made a short detour to Africa, and then returned to his home continent and, according to his own words, he was even received by the Pope in Rome. From there he headed to America, where he also had a chance to meet with the American president. In 1932, he was still on the American continent when he applied to the Hungarian NOC to participate in the Los Angeles Olympics in Hungarian colors. He started in the road race, where he eventually finished 31st. After the Olympics, he stayed in America and starts primarily in six-day track races.
After completing his active career, he settled in Los Angeles and died there in 1971.
Hungary