Jónatán Vadnay achieved the third best result for Hungarian sailing in the five-ring games. Dávid Losonczi could win the bronze medal, as the men's water polo team reached the semi-finals.
Jonathan Vadnai took sixth place and the Hungarian delegation fourth at the Olympics. The Balatonfüred Yacht Club competitor improved on his previous position in the ILCA 7 (formerly Laser) class, entering the medal race in the Bay of Marseille in sixth place.
The medal race for the European Championship silver medallist Hungarian sailor and her seven competitors had to be restarted due to weak winds. After a recurring start, Vadnai took the lead, after the first buoy he was first, after the second he was second, after the third he was third, and the winner and defending champion Matt Wearn of Australia and Pavlosh Kontides of Cyprus also reached the finish line in third place behind her.
With his third place in the medal race, Vadnay finished fourth overall, four points behind bronze medalist Stefano Peschiera of Peru. The 26-year-old's performance was enhanced by the fact that he was the only one of the top ten finishers from a landlocked country.
After Zsombor Peretz's silver in Tokyo and the Dietre brothers' bronze in Moscow, the 26-year-old competitor achieved the best Olympic result for Hungarian sailing in the Paris Games. In addition to Vadnay, so far Tibor Andrászvy (individual fencing), Nandor Németh (swimming, 100m), Attila Valter (road bike, cross country), Blanka Vas (road bike, cross country) and David Bethlehem (swimming, 1500m) have achieved fourth place in the Paris Olympics.
David Losonczi could compete for the bronze medal.
Dávid Losonczi failed to reach the finals in the men's 87kg group. In his first match, Losonczi defeated Azerbaijani Rafik Huseynov 5-2, and in the quarter-finals he defeated Russian-born Serbian classicist and this year's European champion Aleksandr Komarov, with a point he later scored (2-2). The 24-year-old ESMTK world champion competed against Shemen Novikov, who finished third at last year's World Cup, and the Bulgarian wrestler eventually won the match (3-1). David Losonczi, who is participating in his first Olympic Games, can now step onto the mat for the bronze medal on Thursday evening.
The national water polo team reached the top four with five meters
The men's water polo team played against Italy in the semi-finals. Thanks to four goals scored by Christian Manhertz, the Hungarians led 4-2 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Italians scored four goals in a row, and the Hungarians trailed even in the last second half (6-7). The last eight minutes brought more ups and downs: with the fifth goal by Manhertz, the Hungarians again led 9-8, the Italians tied the game (9-9), and then they could have attacked for the win, but they messed it up. Up top, Jansik got away, but missed the target with 16 seconds left on a seemingly unmissable jump.
It ended in a draw, the five-metre-tall players decided. In the penalty shootout, Hungary's goalkeeper Vogel Soma was in his usual form, saving three of four shots (five of six in total, including two saved in regulation time), and Manhertz's hand did not tremble as he took the shot to advance. Hungary thus reached the semi-finals, where they will face Croatia on Friday.
Kayak and canoe stars in encouraging form
Taekwondo player Salim Omar Jarjali took ninth place in the men's 58kg category, and among the kayakers with a chance to win the final are Tamara Sebes and Alida Jazsu (K-1500 women), as well as Balint Kobas and Adam. Varga (K-1 1000 men) also reached the middle race without any problems.
