János Garay

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games • Referee
SexMale
Full nameJános•Garay
Used nameJános•Garay
Other namesJános Garai
Born23 February 1889 in Budapest, Budapest (HUN)
Died21 April 1945 in Mauthausen-Gusen Concentration Camp, Oberösterreich (AUT)
AffiliationsNVC, (HUN) / Tisza István Vívóklub, (HUN)
NOC Hungary
Medals OG
Gold 1
Silver 1
Bronze 1
Total 3

Biography

In addition to his three Olympic medals, János Garay was the 1925 European Champion in individual sabre and was Hungarian national sabre champion in 1923. As a Jew, János was deported to the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp in 1944. There he was a prominent detainee and a Nazi hostage in their negotiations with the Soviets. He was kept in a very small bunker and died in 1945 as “death case # 14271,” his death officially declared as due to cardiac insufficiency. He was the father-in-law of Valéria Gyenge, who later moved to Canada and became a famous photographer.

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1924 Summer Olympics Fencing HUN János Garay
Sabre, Individual, Men (Olympic) 3 Bronze
Sabre, Team, Men (Olympic) Hungary 2 Silver
1928 Summer Olympics Fencing HUN János Garay
Sabre, Team, Men (Olympic) Hungary 1 Gold

Referee

Games Sport (Discipline) / Event NOC / Team Phase Unit Role As
1936 Summer Olympics Fencing HUN János Garay
Foil, Individual, Men (Olympic) Semi-Finals Pool 1 Judge
Foil, Individual, Men (Olympic) Round One Pool 1 Jury President
Foil, Individual, Men (Olympic) Round One Pool 5 Judge
Foil, Team, Men (Olympic) Semi-Finals France — Germany Jury President
Foil, Team, Men (Olympic) Semi-Finals Germany — Belgium Judge
Foil, Team, Men (Olympic) Semi-Finals Germany — Argentina Judge
Foil, Team, Men (Olympic) Quarter-Finals Germany — Great Britain Judge
Foil, Team, Men (Olympic) Round One Yugoslavia — Brazil Jury President
Sabre, Team, Men (Olympic) Semi-Finals Poland — Austria Judge
Sabre, Team, Men (Olympic) Quarter-Finals Germany — France Judge
Foil, Individual, Women (Olympic) Quarter-Finals Pool 2 Jury President

Olympic family relations

Special Notes