György Zala (canoeist)

György Zala (born January 19, 1969 in Budapest) is a Hungarian sprint canoeist who competed from 1989 to 2001.

The native form of this personal name is Zala György. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.
György Zala
Medal record
Men's canoe sprint
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place1992 BarcelonaC-1 1000 m
Bronze medal – third place1996 AtlantaC-1 1000 m
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2001 PoznańC-4 200 m
Gold medal – first place2001 PoznańC-4 1000 m
Silver medal – second place1989 PlovdivC-4 500 m
Silver medal – second place1990 PoznańC-1 1000 m
Silver medal – second place1995 DusiburgC-4 1000 m
Silver medal – second place2001 PoznańC-4 500 m
Bronze medal – third place1990 PoznańC-2 500 m
Bronze medal – third place1998 SzegedC-2 1000 m

Competing in three Summer Olympics, he won two bronze medals in the C-1 1000 m event, earning them in 1992 and 1996.

Zala, a hyperactive child, took up canoeing at the age of 11. A great natural athlete despite suffering from asthma, it seemed he was only truly motivated by the Olympics. Between Olympiads he tended to fall out of sight, focussing instead on his other passions such as extreme sports.

It was not until later in his career that he won any world or European championship titles. He took to his new role as the "old man" of the Hungarian four-man crew with enthusiasm, helping his younger teammates to victory in the C-4 1000 m event at the 2000 European Championships in Poznań. The following year he returned to Poznań, this time for the world championships and, despite injury, won two golds (C-4 200 m and C-4 1000 m). Zala also won six additional world championship medals with four silvers (C-1 1000 m: 1990, C-4 500 m: 1989, 2001; C-4 1000 m: 1995) and two bronzes (C-2 500 m: 1990, C-2 1000 m: 1998).

He is 173 cm (5'8) tall and raced at 84 kg (185 lbs).

References

    General references
    • ICF medalists for Olympic and World Championships – Part 1: flatwater (now sprint): 1936–2007 at the Wayback Machine (archived 2010-01-05)
    • ICF medalists for Olympic and World Championships – Part 2: rest of flatwater (now sprint) and remaining canoeing disciplines: 1936–2007 at WebCite (archived 2009-11-09)
    • Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "György Zala". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17.
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