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Aloha, I invite you to my beginning…
I was born by the beautiful “blue” Danube River in Hungary. I don’t remember, of course, but my mom told me that I was swimming in the Danube before I could barely walk!
That’s how it started … My dad loved the water, so my family and friends were always going on boating trips… I can still smell the Danube. Around the age of 7 I was doing all kinds of sport activities like hand ball, soccer, tennis, as well as doing gymnastics, karate, and swimming with my dad in the mornings…One day one of my buddies was going to try this sport “kayaking” (there were and still are professional, salaried athletes in this sport- it’s huge in Hungary), so of course I said “let’s go!”. I dropped the other sports and started enjoying life on the water!
There were more than 2000 kids actively involved with kayak racing and over 15 kayak clubs in the city of Budapest. My first race was when I was 8 and the next year I qualified to race in the national championship- in my age group alone there where more than 150 participants. We had youth camps all year around with the support from the government (Hungary was communist at the time). The youth kayak program they funded was a humongous help for low income families.
I had a blast being on the water and spent more time in my club than in my mother’s house. I became this uncontrollable teenager that did not care about anything but kayaking and dreaming of the Olympic gold! Year after year went by, I was a salaried, professional athlete on the Hungarian National Sprint Team for 13 years.
Fast forward to the year 1998, it was the Flatwater Kayak Racing World Championship in Szeged, Hungary. There were over 25,000 spectators cheering for the racers. It was an experience of a lifetime, and I won 2 silver medals in the K4 – four man kayak. Two years later my kayak partner and I were in the double kayak (K2 500m) at the Hungarian Qualification race for the Sydney Olympics. This division was so strong, and only one boat could qualify. The team that beat us went to the games and won the gold. They were the best and I realized that I had spent an amazing 20 or so years with this sport but I needed to change. It was time to move on!
I retired and came to the U.S. to visit family in Chicago. I was so tired (and disappointed) with sports and competition. For a year or so I did not do anything athletic (not even running). I guess it was the time to find the things I had left behind in my life from earlier (from a non sport perspective).
Then I met someone who definitely helped me realize that there is life outside of athleticism! That someone was my wife- Tracy. We met in Chicago in 2003 and moved to San Francisco in 2004. I was still not living an active life. About a year later I found myself joining (and enjoying!) an outrigger club in the city- San Francisco Outrigger Canoe Club (SFOCC) yea! My water spirit came back again. In the summer of 2005, during one of the OC6 races, I saw this really cool looking kayak thing and I asked the person next to the boat (Dave Jensen), “Hey what is that?” The answer, (we all know) “it’s a Surf ski.”
Two years ago 2008, I moved to Hawaii. I left alot behind in San Francisco. Tracy and I got divorced. It was hard for both of us . I started a new period of my life, learning the Hawaiian style,not just paddling but really enjoyong the life going with the flow as well. I feel connected here .
I will stay longer for sure. Liza,a beautiful island girl, is making this part much easier, we have been together almost 2 years.
Zsolt
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