Success in Canadian and Hungarian sporting life

On the day celebrating Hungarian Sport Day, Mária Vass-Salazar, Hungarian ambassador to
Canada, had a talk with Adam van Koeverden, the Canadian parliamentary representative of
Hungarian descent, kayak and canoe Olympic champion, and parliamentary secretary to the
Minister of Heritage (Sport). They continued to strengthen Hungarian-Canadian relations in this
popular area.
Many still remember that the Canadian Adam van Koeverden caused a sensation when he won
gold in the 2004 Athens Olympics in the 500-meter kayak singles event. The young man, only 22
at the time, won a bronze medal the following day in the 1000-meter event, becoming the only
Canadian athlete to win two medals in the Greek capital. That entitled him to carry the Canadian
flag at the closing ceremonies. At the end of the year, he was awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy
given to the best athlete of the country.
After the races, it became known that Adam’s mother, Beáta Bokrossy, is Hungarian who came
to Canada with her family following the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and Uprising. The young
man, born in the small Ontario town of Oakville, speaks Hungarian. Later, in world
competitions, Adam won 2 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze medals. One of the medals he won in
Szeged, Hungary. He has often trained and competed in Hungary. He carried the flag at the
opening ceremonies at the 2008 Peking Olympics and stood on the second rung of the podium in
the 500-meter canoe singles event. Four years later, at the 2012 London Olympics, he did it
again, winning the silver medal in the 1000-meter canoe singles event. Besides sport, the now-
39-year-old Adam van Koeverden graduated in 2007 from Hamilton’s McMaster University.
At the 2019 federal elections, Adam van Koeverden was elected to the House of Commons as
the Liberal representative of the Milton electoral district.

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Megvalósult a Magyar Kormány Támogatásával - Bethlen Gábor Alap
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