László Hammerl

From 1952 László Hammerl was a sports shooter for Ganz VM, from 1957 for MHSZ KLK, and from 1969 for Újpesti Dózsa. In 1959 Hammerl won a bronze medal at the European Youth Championship. In 1961 he finished in fourth three times at the Youth European Championships in Budapest, joining the Hungarian national team the same year. His first major international competition was the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, where he surprisingly won a gold medal and a bronze medal in the three position discipline. In 1965 Hammerl was in the 4th European Championship with the team. At the 1968 Mexico City Olympics he finished second in the small-bore rifle prone.

At the 1974 World Cup he won a bronze medal in the team event, before winning a team bronze at the European championships the following year. He also took part in the 1972 München and 1976 Montréal Olympics with him retiring from active sports after the Montréal Games.

In 1968 Hammerl obtained a general medical certificate at the Semmelweis University of Medicine, and in 1973 he passed the otolaryngology specialist exam. From January 1977, in addition to practicing his medical profession, he assumed the position of captain of the Hungarian sports shooting team. In 1982 he obtained a trainer’s certificate at the College of Physical Education, and in 1985 he gained a professional trainer’s certificate.

In 1996 Hammerl settled in New Zealand and became the national team captain of the local sports shooting team. He returned home in 1999 and was the manager of the Hungarian national team until 2004.