András Zsinka

András Zsinka started his sports career as an athlete of Postás SE in 1964. In 1966 he changed to Bp. Honvéd, then in 1968 to Újpest. He primarily competed in middle-distance running. In 1970, 1974 and 1976, he won the Hungarian championship in the 800 metres. In addition, between 1967 and 1978, he won 18 more championship titles with different team relays and team events.

He was a member of the Hungarian national team between 1967 and 1979. He won a silver medal in the 800 meters at the European indoor championships in 1974 and finished fourth in 1974 and 1976. At the 1972 München Olympics, he finished sixth in his preliminaries and was eliminated from further competition. In 1973, he ran a world record for the 600 meters on an indoor track.

From 1968, he served in various bodies of the Ministry of the Interior, from 1973 as a professional employee. During this time, he started one of the well-known martial arts, aikido, took an exam as a judge in judo, and took part in karate training. He introduced mandatory training, annual fitness assessments and fitness tests at the police. He also organized the mass sports competitions of the police force for years.

In 1978, he graduated from the Gyula Juhász Teacher Training College, where he obtained a primary school teacher’s diploma majoring in physical education, then in 1982 he graduated from the Faculty of Natural Sciences of ELTE Budapest, and in 1984 from the Police Officer’s College. On July 1, 2014, he was appointed Deputy Secretary of State for Personnel at the Ministry of the Interior.

Personal Best: 800 – 1:47.5 (1976).