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JOZSEF CSERMAK, HUNGARIAN OLYMPIC HAMMER CHAMPION SUCCESSOR OF THE GREAT IMRE NEMETH HAS DIEDJan 15 2001MONTE CARLO - Monaco - Hungary's Jozsef Csermak, gold medallist in the hammer throw at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics and gold medallist at the 1954 European Championships in Berne died on Sunday in his native city of Tapolca, at the age of 68, following a heart attack. The athletics career of this champion fits perfectly into the great Hungarian tradition in hammer throwing, headed by the legendary Imre Nemeth. Csermak was just twenty years old when he succeeded Nemeth as Olympic champion and world record holder at the Helsinki Games. With his third throw in the Olympic final, Csermak threw 60.34 metres to beat his master and team-mate's record of 59.88m and become the first athlete to throw over 60 metres in the history of the event. A history in which Hungary has continued to play a fundamental role, with that exceptional champion Gyula Zsivotzky - silver medallist in Rome 1960 and Tokyo '64, Olympic champion in 1968 in Mexico and fifth at the 1972 Munich Games - and with Balazs Kiss - gold medallist in Atlanta '96 - but also with Tibor Gecsek, European champion at Budapest in 1998. The sudden loss of Jozsef Csermak came just two days after the death of Adhemar Ferreira da Silva and little more than a month after that of the legendary Emile Zatopek, both of whom also won Olympic crowns in Helsinki. Check out the Jumpstart Athletics Canadian National Throws Rankings for complete rankings in the throws. If you have news, results or info please let us know by using our submission form or emailing Larry Steinke [ MEET INFORMATION ] [ ANALYSIS & TIPS ] [ THROWS ARTICLES ] [ INTERVIEWS ] [ RECORDS ] [ RESULTS ] [ CLASSIFIEDS ] [ HOT LINK ARCHIVE ] [ DISCUSSION FORUM ] [ SUBMISSIONS ] [ THROWERS QUIZ ] [ GUESTBOOK ] | ||