SZABO MATYAS

General Information Country: GER Gender: M Handedness: Right-handed Date of birth: 1991-08-19 License: 19081991000

Further Personal Information Residence Dormagen, GER Occupation Armed Forces Athlete Languages English, German, Hungarian Higher education Media Studies - Fresenius University: Cologne, GER

Sport Specific Information When and where did you begin this sport? He began at age four in Dormagen, , and fenced his first tournament at age nine. Why this sport? His parents were both fencers who represented Romania at the . "My father and my mother share a passion for fencing. They found each other through sports." Club / Team TSV Bayer Dormagen: Germany Name of coach Olaf Kawald [club]; Vilmos Szabo [national, father], ROU Handedness Right General Interest Memorable sporting achievement Carrying the Olympic torch through the athlete village at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. (matyas-szabo.com, 01 Sep 2020) Most influential person in career His parents. (matyas-szabo.com, 01 Sep 2020) Hero / Idol German fencer Nicolas Limbach. (ksta.de, 21 Apr 2011) Injuries In mid 2017 he suffered a minor back injury caused by improper lifting during training. (faz.net, 21 Jul 2017) Superstitions / Rituals / Beliefs He keeps the deck of cards that he got his first royal flush with during a game of poker in his fencing bag. (deutsche-olympiamannschaft.de, 01 Sep 2016) Sporting philosophy / motto "Fencing is my life, and although there are hardships and defeats to face up to, they are also the best moments of my life." (matyas-szabo.com, 01 Sep 2020) Awards and honours At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro he was one of five athletes to carry the Olympic torch through the athlete village prior to the opening ceremony. (matyas-szabo.com, 01 Sep 2020; rp-online.de, 03 Aug 2016)

In 2011 he was named Junior Sportsperson of the Year by Deutsche Sporthilfe. (sporthilfe.de, 2012) Famous relatives His mother Reka represented Romania in fencing. She won team foil bronze and team foil silver at the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games respectively. His father Vilmos also represented Romania in the sport, winning bronze in team sabre at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. He has also coached the German men's sabre team. (dosb.de, 25 Dec 2016; SportsDeskOnline, 02 Apr 2016; fechten.org, 11 Jun 2015; sporthilfe.de, 2012; matyas- szabo.com, 01 Sep 2020) Ambitions To compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in . (Instagram profile, 15 Mar 2021; matyas- szabo.com, 01 Sep 2020) Other information FAMOUS FATHER His father Vilmos has served as a national coach for the German men's sabre team. He says his father is tough on him, but that they manage to keep their fencing and personal relationships separate. "As a rule, he scolds me, even when I win. He expects a lot from me. At home he is my father, but when we're training he is in charge." (faz.net, 17 Jul 2017; ksta.de, 21 Apr 2011)

OTHER ACTIVITIES In September 2019 he and Max Hartung, a fellow TSV Bayer Dormagen and German national team fencer, launched the 'Demaskiert' [Unmasked] fencing podcast. In November 2020 they also organised their own fencing tournament, the 'Unmasked League', to raise money for Germany's Olympic and Paralympic squads. The event took place in Dusseldorf and was broadcast free on the Trops4 sports channel on streaming platform Twitch. (demaskiert- podcast.de, 01 Sep 2020; rp-online.de, 13 Nov 2020)

FROM ROMANIA TO GERMANY He fenced for Romania until 2009, at which point he decided to join the German national team. (sporthilfe.de, 01 Sep 2012)