Mór Kóczán
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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Full name | Móric Kóczán | ||||||||||||||
Nationality | Hungarian, Czechoslovak | ||||||||||||||
Born | Alsógöd, Hungary | 8 January 1885||||||||||||||
Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||
Personal best(s) | Discus throw – 39.09 m (1910)[1] Javelin throw – 59.71 m (1914)[1] | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Móric "Mór" Kóczán (Hungarian:
Following World War I, after the borders of Hungary
Early life
Kóczán was born on 8 January 1885 in Kocs, Kingdom of Hungary to Lajos Kóczán, the rector of the local Reformed elementary school, and Franciska Bakos. He spent his childhood in Kocs before moving to Pápa, where he studied in the Reformed high school and later in the Theological Academy, earning his pastoral degree in 1908.[3] Kóczán was inaugurated as the vice pastor of Csallóközaranyos (now Zlatná na Ostrove) in 1907, where he became pastor a year later and stayed in his position until 1914.[4]
Athletics career and pastoral service
Kóczán began training athletics during his high school years and in 1900 he was already a member of
In 1910 Kóczán switched to Ferencvárosi TC, for them he won the inaugural javelin throw event of the Hungarian Athletics Championships in 1911, which was followed by another four titles (1912–14, 1918).[6] He also triumphed in a number of national and international competitions, including the Austrian Athletics Championships in 1913 and the British Athletics Championships in 1914.[5]
Kóczán participated at the 1912 Summer Olympics under the pseudonym Mór Kovács to avoid conflicts with the church, which opposed his sporting activities.[3][7] In the qualifying round of his main event, the javelin throw, Kóczán topped his group and achieved third best overall result with 54.99 metres.[8] In the final round he improved it to 55.50 but could not match defending champion Eric Lemming (60.64) and Julius Saaristo (58.66), and eventually won the bronze medal[9] thus becoming the first non-Scandinavian to win a medal in the javelin throw at the Olympic Games[7] as well as the first Hungarian to win an Olympic medal in athletics.[6] In the two handed javelin throw competition Kóczán finished 12th[10] and in the discus throw event he came 33rd.[11]
In 1914, after seven years of pastoral service in Csallóközaranyos, and shorter spells in Diósjenő (1909) and Diósförgepatony (now Orechová Potôň; March 1910–May 1910), Kóczán was relocated to Csilizradvány (now Čiližská Radvaň). In the same year, he married Karola Halász, with whom he had two daughters, Gizella and Edit. Upon the reluctance of the church towards athletics toned down, Kóczán formed a sports club in Csilizradvány and organized sporting activities in the village.[3]
Following World War I the northern Hungarian territories, including Csilizradvány, became part of the newly formed Czechoslovak state. Kóczán, taking the minority life, remained with his congregation and continued his pastoral work. He also participated in the Czechoslovak athletics contests, competing for Sparta Prague. Kóczán won the javelin throw event at the 1920 national championship and represented Czechoslovakia at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris; however, he could not repeat his former performances and finished only 23rd in the javelin throw.[12] He gave up professional sport in 1926.[3]
Death and legacy
Kóczán was
Since 1999, the city council of Göd has awarded the Mór Kóczán Ambulatory Prize of Göd every year to the best sportspeople in the town in three categories (men, women, team).[3] In 2005 the Hungarian language elementary school in Zlatná na Ostrove took the name of Kóczán,[6] and the local sports hall also bears his name. In 2008 the Hungarian language school of Čiližská Radvaň was also renamed in his honour. On the same occasion the memorial plaque of Kóczán, a work by Géza Nagy, was revealed as well.[14]
References
- ^ a b c d Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Mór Kóczán". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- Olympedia. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g József Végh (2011). "Kóczán Mór" (PDF). Börzsönyi Helikon. 6 (5): 26–29. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ a b "Mór Kóczán Biography" (in Hungarian). Forum Minority Research Institute. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ a b "Mór Kóczán Biography" (in Hungarian). Čilizská Radvaň Official Website. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ a b c "Mór Kóczán Biography" (in Hungarian). Kóczán Mór Magyar Tanítási Nyelvű Alapiskola. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ a b "A Diósförgepatonyi Református Egyházközség története" (in Hungarian). Diósförgepatony Reformed Congregation. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ "Athletics at the 1912 Stockholm Summer Games: Men's Javelin Throw Qualifying Round". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ "Athletics at the 1912 Stockholm Summer Games: Men's Javelin Throw Final Round". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ "Athletics at the 1912 Stockholm Summer Games: Men's Discus Throw". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ "Athletics at the 1912 Stockholm Summer Games: Men's Javelin Throw, Both Hands". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ "Athletics at the 1924 Paris Summer Games:Men's Javelin Throw". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ "Mór Kóczán Biography" (in Hungarian). Kóczán Mór Alapiskola Csilizradvány 258. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ "Kóczán Mór nevét vette fel a csilizradványi iskola" (in Hungarian). Új Szó. 23 October 2008. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
External links
- M. Koczan at Olympics.com
- Móric Koczán at Olympijskytym.cz (in Czech)
- Móric Koczán at Olympic.cz (in Czech) (archived)
- Kóczán Mór (Kovács Miklós) at the Magyar Olimpiai Bizottság (in Hungarian) (English translation)
- Kóczán Mór (Kovács Miklós) at the Hungarian Olympic Committee (in Hungarian) (archived)