Zoltán Adamik

In his hometown of Szolnok, Zoltán Adamik tried many sports whilst at school including swimming, boxing, wrestling, rowing, and football. After his father got a job in the capital, they moved to Budapest. In the house where they lived there was an athlete who said to him “Come to Postás, you will get a job too.” At that time, the best 400 metres time was 53.8 seconds with Adamik becoming a Postás athlete in 1947.

Adamik won his first championship title in the 200 metres in 1951, by then already a competitor for the Budapest Honvéd. However, the coaches saw more talent in him in the 400 metres. Time proved them right. In 1954 he broke the national record, and two years later he became the first Hungarian to run within 47 seconds. He won the Hungarian championship five times individually and six times in the relay. Between 1951 and 1956 Adamik also competed for the Hungarian national team 22 times including at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. A year earlier he won gold in the 400 metres at the World University Championships in Berlin, along with silver in the 4 x 400 metres relay. In 1954 he won bronze in the 400 metres at the 1954 European Athletics Championships in Bern, and finished fifth in the relay. He retired from active sports relatively early in 1957, at the age of 29.

In 1958 Adamik was appointed a member of the Hungarian Physical Education and Sports Council. In 1960 he obtained a certificate as an athlete trainer at the Sports Management and Coaching Institute (SEKI) and trained the new generation of athletes. In addition to his track and field career, he obtained an engineering degree.

Personal Best: 400 – 46.9 (1956).