Veteran Hungarian sports journalist and former Nemzeti Sport editor István Szekeres dies at 81

István Szekeres, a prominent figure in Hungarian sports journalism, died at 81 in Honvédkórház, according to the Hungarian Wrestling Federation. Beginning his career at Népsport in 1969, he later moved to its successor, Nemzeti Sport, where he rose through the ranks to become editor-in-chief in 1989. After leaving the newspaper, Szekeres worked for one outlet and Színes Sport.

He was a long-time board member of the Hungarian Wrestling Federation, serving as press chief and secretary-general, and he invented the discipline of grundbirkózás. From 1991 to 2007 he sat on the Hungarian Olympic Committee, and he led the Hungarian Sports Journalists Association as president from 2002 to 2007. Over his career he reported on six Summer and two Winter Olympics, 73 world and European championships, and compiled the first international wrestling rankings in 1974. He authored several books on wrestling and received the Olympic Committee’s Media Award in 2004, a Media Prize in 1995, the Golden Pen award in 2017, and a Lifetime Achievement award in 2018.