{"id":6043,"date":"2026-07-13T20:03:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T18:03:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gyulaimemorial.hu\/?p=6043"},"modified":"2026-07-13T20:03:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T18:03:59","slug":"global-stars-and-hungarian-greats-tuned-up-for-tuesdays-super-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gyulaimemorial.hu\/en\/news\/global-stars-and-hungarian-greats-tuned-up-for-tuesdays-super-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"GLOBAL STARS AND HUNGARIAN GREATS TUNED UP FOR TUESDAY’S SUPER COMPETITION"},"content":{"rendered":"

Olympic champions, world champions, world record holders, and the best of Hungarian athletics tuned up together for the 16th Gyulai Istv\u00e1n Memorial \u2013 Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix. Monday’s press conference was in itself a star-studded parade of athletics, and Tuesday will bring one of the strongest Gyulai Memorials of all time at the Gyula Zsivotzky National Athletic Centre.<\/p>\n

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The numbers speak for themselves: athletes from 51 countries will compete in 20 international events, which is a record in the history of the event. The field includes nine Paris Olympic champions – seven of whom are individual gold medalists – and five defending world champions.<\/p>\n

“There will be strong events, very strong events, and sensationally strong events<\/em>,” said Sports Director Attila Spiriev<\/strong>, who believes that this year’s field evokes the quality of Diamond League meetings. He then listed events and names that took the breath away of the sports-loving attendees, having once again negotiated sensationally with the stars.<\/p>\n

Mikl\u00f3s Gyulai<\/strong>, President of the Hungarian Athletics Association, highlighted the sixteen-year history of the competition and the spirit behind the event.<\/p>\n

“My father believed that sport builds bridges. In the past sixteen years, we have built this event in this spirit. It is no coincidence that the world’s greatest athletes have always been happy to return to Sz\u00e9kesfeh\u00e9rv\u00e1r before, and now to Budapest. This is not something to be taken for granted, but the result of the work of the past decade and a half<\/em>,” said Mikl\u00f3s Gyulai, adding that the development of Hungarian athletes and the strength of the home crowd are just as important a part of the Memorial as the international star field.<\/p>\n

In the history of the Gyulai Memorial, from the first competition in 2011 to this year’s event, 241 athletes have participated or are participating who have won a total of 561 Olympic or World Championship gold medals during their careers. The participation record holder is Pawe\u0142 Fajdek<\/strong>, competing for the 13th time, while Luca Koz\u00e1k<\/strong> is competing for the 12th time, and Bence Hal\u00e1sz<\/strong> is taking the field for the 11th time.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

Bence Hal\u00e1sz: Would channel the energy of the crowd into the throw again<\/strong><\/p>\n

The international program begins at 16:00 right away with one of the strongest events, the men’s hammer throw. The top six in the world rankings will all be in the throwing circle.<\/p>\n

For Bence Hal\u00e1sz, last year’s Gyulai Memorial is particularly memorable, where he won with a personal best and meeting record of 83.18 meters.<\/p>\n

“Last year’s Gyulai Memorial was a defining experience of my career. The strength of the home crowd gave me a lot, and I managed to fully channel that energy into my throw<\/em>,” said the Olympic silver medalist. “I can compete consistently, but I want to step away from results around 80\u201381 meters, because there is even more in me. I want to win, but it won’t be easy<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

For one of his biggest rivals, Olympic and two-time world champion Ethan Katzberg<\/strong>, Budapest is also a special place. This is where he truly burst into the world elite when he won the world title in 2023.<\/p>\n

“It was a great experience to compete here, my career truly took off here. It is always a pleasure to return to Budapest<\/em>,” said the Canadian star, who believes that the increasingly strong international field drives continuous improvement.<\/p>\n

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World-class hurdlers and two Hungarian favorites<\/strong><\/p>\n

The field for the women’s 100-meter hurdles rivals the strength of a World Championship final. Olympic champion Masai Russell<\/strong> is competing in incredible form this year, having already come within just two hundredths of a second of the world record.<\/p>\n

“I have become more consistent for this year. At every competition, I know what I have to do, how to train, what to eat, how to rest. I only focus on myself<\/em>,” said Russell, who does not escape the expectations regarding the world record either. “I want to be the greatest hurdler of all time.<\/em>”<\/p>\n

The Hungarian crowd can cheer for Luca Koz\u00e1k<\/strong> and Anna T\u00f3th<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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“I grew up experiencing that you could reach the final with times around 12.7, by now this leans more towards 12.5. But my motivation is absolutely there, I feel that at thirty years old, I have truly matured for hurdling<\/em>,” said the Hungarian record holder. Regarding the special power of the home competition, she added: “At home, we also want to show what we can do better, we want to give something back to the fans cheering for us<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

Anna T\u00f3th gained a lot of international experience this season and hopes to capitalize on it on Tuesday as well. As she said, the Gyula Zsivotzky National Athletic Centre is her favorite track.<\/p>\n

An exceptional field is coming together in the men’s 110-meter hurdles as well. Five athletes with personal bests under 13 seconds are competing. Ja\u2019Kobe Tharp<\/strong> and world champion Cordell Tinch<\/strong> both stated: neither of them has ever competed in such a strong field before.<\/p>\n

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Duplantis wants to take the trophy home again<\/strong><\/p>\n

The name of Armand Duplantis<\/strong> is now inseparable from Budapest. The Swedish superstar won a world title in the Hungarian capital in 2023, and last year he won at the Gyulai Memorial with a world record, capturing the Dr. Bojidar Spiriev Trophy for the best performance of the competition.<\/p>\n

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“I love Budapest, the track, the stadium, everything. It was fantastic to be here last year, and I expect something similar this year as well<\/em>,” said Duplantis. “I would like to take the trophy home again, although it is big and hard to fit at home, so my wife might not be as happy about it as I am.<\/em>”<\/p>\n

The world record holder also revealed that he hasn’t felt this much determination in himself for a long time: “I haven’t been this hungry for success in a long time as I am now<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Attila Moln\u00e1r will have the last word<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tuesday’s competition will receive a worthy conclusion: the final event of the international program will be the men’s 400 meters, featuring Hungarian record holder Attila Moln\u00e1r<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The indoor European champion improved his own national record to 44.47 seconds in Monte Carlo on Friday, despite only making it into the Diamond League field at the last minute.<\/p>\n

“It is an honor for me that mine is the last event, this has never happened to me before<\/em>,” said Attila Moln\u00e1r. “My goal is to die by the finish line, and as a result, the clock should show something beautiful. I feel that I haven’t run poorly at the Gyulai Memorial yet, I have always poured my soul out. Considering my current physical condition, something beautiful could come out of my competition this year<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

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“Among the strongest competitions of the season”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bogl\u00e1rka Tak\u00e1cs<\/strong> will take the field in the 100 meters alongside Olympic champion Julien Alfred<\/strong>. According to the Hungarian record holder, her season still holds serious results.<\/p>\n

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“I am not maximally satisfied with my season this year, but there is still a long way to go. I am running very good times in training, I am hopeful that this will come out in competitions over time<\/em>,” said Bogl\u00e1rka Tak\u00e1cs. “The Gyulai Memorial is among the strongest competitions of the season.”<\/p>\n

For the young Lilianna B\u00e1tori<\/strong>, it is also a special opportunity to compete among the best in the world in the high jump.<\/p>\n

“I am not used to sitting next to such great people<\/em>,” noted the U20 and U18 European champion with a smile, who believes the Memorial is another opportunity to battle with the best and learn from them.<\/p>\n

Nicola Olyslagers<\/strong>, Nina Kennedy<\/strong>, Miltiadis Tentoglou<\/strong>, Gabby Thomas<\/strong>, and Julien Alfred<\/strong>, among others, will also compete in Tuesday’s event – but one of the most important messages of the press conference was precisely that the uniqueness of the Gyulai Memorial is not given solely by the list of global stars.<\/p>\n

Rather, it is the encounter that takes place this evening: between the best in the world, the excellences of Hungarian athletics, and the home crowd.<\/p>\n

Last year, this resulted in a world record, a Hungarian personal best, and an unforgettable sporting experience. On Tuesday, at the 16th Gyulai Istv\u00e1n Memorial, everything is once again in place for Budapest to write athletics history once more.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Olympic champions, world champions, world record holders, and the best of Hungarian athletics tuned up together for the 16th Gyulai Istv\u00e1n Memorial \u2013 Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix. Monday’s press conference was in itself a star-studded parade of athletics, and Tuesday will bring one of the strongest Gyulai Memorials of all time at the Gyula Zsivotzky […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":5975,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[21],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gyulaimemorial.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6043"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gyulaimemorial.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gyulaimemorial.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gyulaimemorial.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gyulaimemorial.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6043"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gyulaimemorial.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6044,"href":"https:\/\/gyulaimemorial.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6043\/revisions\/6044"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gyulaimemorial.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gyulaimemorial.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gyulaimemorial.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gyulaimemorial.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}