Effortlessly Defying the Passage of Time
Would you think that the usher at Petőfi Theater in Veszprém has a gold medal in discus throw and four in shot put from the World Masters Athletics Championships, and from her unparalleled collection of honors, is there only one medal missing? The Olympic title, which Mária Gosztolai—known as the “ticket taker” and “seater”—could win next year in Japan. The 79-year-old VEDAC discus thrower has a herniated disc; tight spaces are becoming more difficult for her, and sometimes even her batteries run low, but he still won’t give up on his dream, because movement, sports, and competition have become her very reason for living.
Sports fans might have been at her feet for half a century had she not suffered severe spinal and knee injuries during a training session in the capital. But the accident did happen, and her promising athletic career came to an abrupt end far too early. She attended elementary school in Balatonalmádi, where her PE teacher quickly noticed the tall schoolgirl’s agility and natural talent, and promptly steered her toward athletics and combined events. By high school, she was already drawing attention with strong performances at county-level competitions, while also excelling at the Pioneer Olympics.
She ended up in Budapest after Gergely Kulcsár — who won one silver and two bronze medals in javelin at the Olympic Games — traveled to the shores of the “Hungarian Sea” to recruit young athletic talent. Experienced eyes at the tryouts immediately spotted the potential hidden in the young girl, who began the following school year as a registered athlete with Budapesti Építők.
But her adventure in the capital proved painfully short-lived. During her very first winter conditioning program, the young prospect suffered a devastating injury: at a weightlifting session, she became trapped beneath a 140-kilogram barbell. She rarely talks about it, but she spent a long time confined to a body cast, and her elite athletic career came to an end before she had even turned twenty — despite experts predicting a bright future for her as both a discus thrower and shot putter.
Later, she moved to the City of Queens, where she worked as a chemical technician at the local research institute. Her connection to sports was thereafter limited to occasional appearances on nearby tennis courts and frequent rides on her bicycle. She did attempt a comeback with Bakony Vegyész TC, but she never again came close to her earlier performances.
It took more than three decades for her to return to the track, after her former teammates suggested it to her. At first, he resisted the temptation, but when she learned that the 2009 Senior Olympics would be held in Sydney, she was hooked and gave in. But what was behind her decision?
“My loved ones, my family members, passed away at the turn of the millennium, the year of the Sydney Olympics, and I told myself that the Australian city was practically my second home, meaning it would be a way to make up for it if I could perform well there. “I started training again, and that’s kind of how my senior athletics career began,”
– she recounts, and then I learn that he first competed as a junior in the VEDAC veterans’ category in 2006, at a tournament in Linz, where he finished eleventh. And what happened after that is history. She has six silver and one bronze medal from the Olympics, is a nine-time world champion, and has stood on the podium more than a dozen times at continental competitions.
“Imagine, up until 2018, I’d only ever placed second or third at outdoor world championships, but then the ice broke and II broke out of the shadows. Last year, for example, I beat my Danish rival by a meter, a rival whose mere sight had long terrified me. When they played the national anthem for the first time in honor of my victory, I admit: I cried. It’s still the same now, only my tears fall inward, for myself. On the one hand, I still get nervous before my races, but until 2018, I usually overanalyzed and overthought things in competition situations. No matter how well I performed in training sessions at home, I fell far short of that level when it came to the real tests. I overcame my lack of self-confidence, which stemmed from my lack of ambition, with the help of my brother and my coach, Viktor Páli, who assisted me with my long-distance training. Here at home, we can’t really talk about strong competition, but beyond our borders, Lithuanian, and Russian competitors are waiting for me, who can prepare under much better conditions than I can, they don’t have to dig into their own pockets if they want to compete anywhere in the world,”
– she reveals. &And this brings us to the theater, since Mária Gosztolai has to cover all the costs herself if she wants make the news with good results.
“I have to work to earn the money I need for my competitions and my expensive trips, but for me, life in the theater is a source of joy. My mother and I had season tickets to the opera in Budapest, and later, when I was playing sports in the capital, my friend’s partner was a musician and photographer at József Attila Theater. We took the photos he took to the actors, and in exchange we received tickets to their performances. Later, we also got season tickets in Veszprém, and then when I retired, one of my acquaintances suggested that I apply to be an usher. So I did, and thanks to that, I’ve been able to work at the theater since 2011, where they count on me and value me, and where I can also enjoy the performances. I especially love the deeper, thought-provoking plays; I have several favorites from the recent past, such as Madame Courage, The Living, Death of an Agent, and Dead Poets' Society. I spend a lot of time at the theater; sometimes I only have a couple of days off a month, but I need cultural and recreational activities, especially if I “work out” in the morning at the sports field or the gym. Some of the people at the theater recognize me, stop me, and ask how I’m doing, my fitness, or even my calculus. Their inspiring and encouraging love, however, also weighs on me,”
– she shares her thoughts.
The athlete, who has been voted the best senior notes that if there are no children’s performances in the morning, she trains every weekday, because, as she points out: the weekend is for rest. However, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, in addition to her throwing practice, she does strength training, while on Tuesdays and Thursdays she performs dynamic movement and speed-building exercises, as well as explosive power and agilityon the running track, in the gym, and on the renovated throwing field at the city stadium. Last year she could bench press 62 kilograms, but since then she has been struggling with a wrist injury, so now she is happy with 50 kilograms.
“I train alone, as I’ve already mentioned, and I prepare based on Viktor Páli’s instructions. I think my weightlifting workouts are really tough, sometimes even too much, so I get pretty tired from time to time. But today even the squats are harder, but after all, I’m not getting any younger. Fortunately, my knee is holding up well, even though it’s already been operated on twice. That said, I still love working; I love training, even though my joints are wearing out and I have a herniated disc—meaning I have to take it easy on my spine—but at the same time, I can’t forget to strengthen my back muscles. I can “only” do the shot put from a stationary position, but I can still do the discus with a run-up. In short, I have to pay attention to what and how I do things during training. I’m taking care of myself, too, because I still have plans,”
– she emphasizes, as someone who isn’t content with just that and, even as he approaches his eighth “X,” still harbors serious dreams.
In this regard, he mentions breaking the world record in discus throw as one of his top priorities, a mark he is barely half a meter away from. Achieving or even surpassing the much-coveted 31.56-meter mark could have happened as early as last year, as he had thrown over 31 meters in the technical event during pre-World Championships training in the United States, but due to the wildfires in Florida, his trip and his attempt to break the record were ultimately thwarted. Never mind, he may still get his chance this year, as the World Championships in South Korea this August offer an opportunity to consign the record, which has stood for nearly three decades, to become a thing of the past.
“Now I know that nothing is impossible.”
- emphasizes the outstanding athlete who returned home with two silver medals from the Sydney Paralympics, a silver and a bronze from the 2013 Games in Turin, and three silver medals from the 2017 competition in New Zealand (...where she also competed in the heavy hammer throw). When she learned that the next Olympic Games in the Land of the Rising Sun would be held not in 2028 as originally planned, but a year earlier, she decided to take one more deep breath and try to cap off his already remarkable career by winning the only prize still missing from his collection: an Olympic gold medal.
“After that, at the age of eighty, I’ll put away my disc and shot, even though it’s no secret that I love what I do. After that, I’ll just play tennis and go hiking, which I haven’t had much free time for lately,”
– she adds, noting that this would also set an example for her retired colleagues, encouraging them to go for walks or take day trips from time to time.
With her coaching credentials, tMária Gosztolai, who also serves as an umpire at various athletic meets, lives alone and has no family. If you will, she finds fulfillment in sports. For her, sports are now a defining part of her life, something she simply cannot walk away from. No, because athletics has given her not only magnificent results but also wonderful memories. And there’s something else. Just look at this lover of culture and the theater: her posture and movements show no sign of aging. She deserves recognition for fighting resolutely, even as a semi-retiree, for what still motivates her, namely, to overcome herself as time passes.
Author: Ferenc Király