"VAN" (Sports Desk - 18.01.2026) :: The President of the Republic of Hungary hosted the nominees of Hungary’s top athletes of 2025 at the presidential residence, Sándor Palace, one day ahead of the Hungarian Sports Gala held at the Budapest Opera House.
This landmark event elevated the Hungarian Sports Gala to a new level, as all top three nominees in every category – athletes, teams and coaches and the lifetime aeard nominees – received a level of social and institutional recognition that stands out even by international standards.
The Hungarian Sports Journalists’ Association (HSJA), led by President György Szöllősi, together with Vice President Zsuzsa Csisztu, members of the Hungarian executive board and the organizers of the Gala, realized a long-held ambition by inviting the President of the Republic, Dr. Tamás Sulyok, for the second time to serve as Patron of the event. Their goal was to provide enhanced recognition not only to the winners of the year, but also to all nominees finishing among the top three in nearly ten categories.
President Dr. Tamás Sulyok welcomed the initiative with great openness and, on Sunday evening, January 11, hosted a deliberately tradition-creating presidential reception for all nominees at Sándor Palace. The reception was attended by the leadership of the HSJA and several AIPS guests already arriving in Budapest, including Hee Don Jung, President of AIPS Asia, and Erodotos Miltiadous of Cyprus, Treasurer of AIPS Europe.
The prestige of the event was further enhanced by the presence of the Gala’s Guest of Honour, Sergii Bubka, Olympic champion, six-time world champion, former 35-time world record holder and IOC Member from Ukraine, who attended the reception accompanied by Balázs Fürjes, Hungarian Member of the IOC.
By the day of the Gala, Budapest also welcomed leading figures of the international sports press family. Alongside Hee Don Jung and Erodotos Miltiadous, distinguished guests included Charles Camenzuli, President of AIPS Europe; Michael Schuen, President of the Austrian Sports Journalists’ Association and EC member of AIPS Europe; Joe Langer, AIPS Executive Committee member; Nayden Todorov, Bulgarian EC member of AIPS Europe; Oleksand Glyvynskyy, Ukrainian EC member of AIPS Europe; and Siniša Urošević, Vice President of the Slovenian Sports Journalists’ Association.
On the evening of January 12, nearly one thousand guests gathered at the Budapest Opera House to celebrate Hungary’s most outstanding athletes and coaches of the past year. Sports journalists voted for the best for the 68th time, using a two-round voting system for the first time. After the first round, the top three nominees in each category advanced to the final list.
A total of 461 journalists voted in the first round and 475 in the second, with the notable outcome that the order of the top three remained unchanged in every category.
The Sports Gala was once again honoured by the presence of Dr. Tamás Sulyok, President of the Republic of Hungary, who together with Zsuzsa Csisztu, Vice President of both HSJA and AIPS, presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to legendary ice dancers Krisztina Regőczy and András Sallay, World Champions in 1980.
International star guests at the Opera House included Sergii Bubka, Olympic, World and European Champion pole vaulter from Ukraine, as well as two key figures of the 1987 European Cup final in football: Algeria’s Rabah Madjer and Belgium’s Jean-Marie Pfaff.
The Gala also received a video greeting from Armand Duplantis, who had been named World Sportsman of the Year just days earlier.
Among the award presenters were astronaut Tibor Kapu; Dr. Zsolt Barna, main sponsor of the Gala and Chairman and CEO of MBH Bank; Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee; former President of the Republic Pál Schmitt; Balázs Fürjes, Hungarian IOC Member; Dr. Ádám Schmidt, State Secretary for Sport; Marius Vizer, Presidentg if IJF, and the two Ambassadors of the 2025 Sports Gala, Tímea Nagy, two-time Olympic champion fencer, and Lajos Détári, former Hungarian international footballer.
Cr-AIPS
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