hvg.hu: Were you afraid that the Olympics would be postponed even further due to the epidemic?
Áron Szilágyi: I can only do my job with full force if I have full confidence in what I have to prepare for. So then I didn’t particularly care what kind of news was coming, what the chances were that it would be held.
hvg.hu: How difficult was it to process the fact that the games are held a year later as an athlete used to a permanent system?
Ups.: The news subsided, but it gave some reassurance that it turned out two weeks later that it had not been canceled, only that the Olympics had been postponed. I knew I would have enough strength to put in another year, prepare hard. Last March, I won the last two World Cup competitions held individually, my preparation went perfectly, in fact, I can say that I fought in the form of my life, and then came the shutdown. However, we were able to return to training from May, I was able to work with my coach, and the fitness preparation also started. We found the right pace in which I did the required amount of work, but they didn’t drive over. We were also able to keep my level of motivation in place, which was helped a lot by the fact that domestic competitions had already been held since the autumn, and then a World Cup in March, so we had something to prepare for all the time. Of course, this was by no means like a normal season, but it gave something physical to the preparation. I was really happy that my fencing didn’t weaken: I was able to continue almost from the same place in March of this year with an individual silver medal at the World Cup.
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| One for everyone |
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“What is enough today is not enough tomorrow. I love to fight alone for everyone. I want to win. I have to win, ”says Áron Szilágyi in the film” For Everyone “, which was made on his main character and was shown by him, and by the end of which the viewer has no doubt that he could get a glimpse into the world of someone no one thirsting for success. The two-time Olympic champion’s swordsman’s life – his journeys to competitions, his trainings with his teammates, the most important moments of his private life – was followed for five years by director-cameraman András Muhi, during which he took almost 600 hours of raw materials on more than a hundred filming days. “I didn’t want to erect a statue of Aaron. I wanted to look like a reality, a figure at the crossroads of athletics, intellectuals, chivalry, and everyday life, who focuses all his talents on a single project, himself, ”he later said of the film struggles, camaraderie, defeat, and victory. One for All will be shown on television next week, even before Szilágyi and his colleagues – András Szatmári, Tamás Decsi and Csanád Gémesi – present themselves at the Tokyo Olympics. |
hvg.hu: For a while, the organizers often said that the Olympics would be the event that would bring people back together after a long period of pandemics, offering hope for recovery. Eventually, they decided to hold the games behind closed gates. Do you think it is safe to host the Olympics in the current circumstances?
Ups.: I ask back: was the Rio Olympics safe? London? Or any of them? It’s a huge event, full of risk, organizers can consider whether it’s worth it for them to undertake or not. As a simple athlete, I do not see into these processes, nor can I interpret the legitimacy of an event of this magnitude towards the end of a pandemic period. This question is not for me.
hvg.hu: Not afraid of outdoor conditions?
Ups.: If we just look at the epidemic, no. We are vaccinated and we do our best not to catch the virus. We will follow the rules of distance, we will disinfect, we will wear a mask everywhere, we will compete in a bubble system from the start. I don’t know what more could be added to that. But there is nothing wrong with that, we are happy to pay that price. There is also no problem with us being subjected to a PRC test on a daily basis. This is the case in the world now. I am very happy to have you under such conditions, but keep the games.
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hvg.hu: How can you keep your thoughts about the possible effects of the epidemic away in such an enviable way?
Ups.: The Olympics are always about who can best rule out external conditions – regardless of the pandemic. Tens of thousands of athletes in one place, the most watched sporting event in the world, with plenty of spectators, disassembles one before and after. This needs to be handled. In this respect, Tokyo will be no different. It comes from everyone’s personality how they process performance anxiety themselves, the various stressful situations. It always helped me to be able to divert my thoughts back to the preparation that I always tried to see the positive. I also see the current situation as an opportunity, as a gift: although we have been living in the middle of a pandemic for a year and a half, I can still be there at the Olympics. They weren’t canceled, they weren’t told to calm down, and then in 2024, everyone in Paris can show themselves. I was able to prepare and get in my best shape. This is all very good. I try to focus on these thoughts and feelings.
hvg.hu: What was the quarantine period like as a private person? Did you learn anything about yourself, your loved ones, or people in general?
Ups.: It wasn’t a normal situation, and I was careful with all sorts of conclusions. Of course, who wouldn’t dream of having to sit at home for months, slow down, have time to read, cook, be with their family. But what triggered it was terrible stress. No one expected, did not want to.
hvg.hu: How did you get busy? Did you learn to bake sourdough bread and read books orphaning in the corner?
Ups.: I read a lot more, got a lot more time, and also spent a lot more time in the kitchen. With my wife so close, we were not in our relationship at all like we had been in the past one year. That was good, of course, but I am a top athlete, I need tasks, goals, incentives. I want to return to normal.
hvg.hu: What is it now is pretty much it?
Ups.: Not in the least. We’re in for an Olympic preparation with no season behind us, we need to get the most out of ourselves without getting any feedback. We run somewhat blindly to him for these games. It is a challenge, but it is also another competitive situation in which everyone is – in a fair way – in the same way. Neither American nor Korean, nor Italian fencers are ahead of us, they have to make the most of themselves in the same situation. I am confident that I can overcome this with my routine, my concentration, my preparedness.
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hvg.hu: As a two-time Olympic champion, are you preparing for Tokyo differently than London or Rio, either mentally or physically?
Ups.: Nine years have passed since London, during which, of course, my fencing has taken shape, and so have I. In my preparation, I tried to keep the elements I thought were good and keep improving, but in some ways there is nothing new during the day: I have to work consciously, I need to be in a good mental state, and I finally have to beat my opponents. The same task as nine years ago, only now at the age of thirty-one, not twenty-two. I have other weapons in my hand now than I did at the time. Then the youthful momentum, the good physique, the power of surprise drove. Now I can rely on my routine and the tactical repertoire I have mastered over the years.
hvg.hu: After a long time, they will be interested in the team competition for the first time. What do you expect?
Ups.: The last time I was able to fight was in Beijing, where I unfortunately failed to get between the four. We are extremely motivated with the guys now, and it gives us enough confidence that we have been able to return home with medals from all the European and World Championships in the last four or five years. I feel like we have the strength to defeat anyone and get to any level of the podium. We know for sure that we will be fighting with the U.S. team to get between the four. We have clashed with them many times in recent years and defeated them one by one, regardless, we must not trust ourselves. We are constantly analyzing them, talking about them, but we are very confident that we will be able to validate the paper format. In the semi-finals, one of the Italian and Iranian national teams is waiting for us, I expect the Italian. Hungarian swordsmen have been fighting with them for a century, it is unpredictable what will happen. One thing’s for sure: it’s going to be a rock-hard, tight, extra-performance beak.
Áron Szilágyi (J) and American Daryl Hommer match men’s sword individual in the final
© AFP
– – hvg.hu: Three teams – the women’s and men’s swords and the women’s dagger – and an individual competitor, Gergely Siklósi, also won the right to start in Tokyo. What does this say about the fencing situation? Ups.: As an athlete, it is a pleasure for me to travel thirteen. I experienced that there could only be four of us there in London, and sure, there was no good mood in fencers, several people rang the alarm bell. And although I won an individual gold medal there, which forgot a lot of things, I had to work very, very hard to get the team there in Rio and more individual starters. The current situation is gratifying, but you also need to be able to redeem this ticket, it is not enough in itself that we travel so much. hvg.hu: The question may be early in front of Tokyo, but how do you see it in Paris in 2024? Ups.: The answer to this varies from year to year. According to the present position, I dare say that I am still targeting the Paris Olympics because the Olympic cycle has been shortened to three years, and I feel the strength to still go through it. Of course, I say this by now preparing one hundred percent for the Tokyo Games. Áron Szilágyi after his Olympic victory in Rio
© AFP
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