(2017 ☆ ARCHIVED) Tamas Buday Sr - Hungary

TAMAS BUDAY Sr (Hungary) - Nominee for the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award

• Born: 1952, sport: sprint canoeing, represents: Hungary and Canada. 

In a career that spans more than four decades, Tamas Buday Sr. has devoted his life to sprint canoeing. As a National champion, Olympic medalist, decorated coach and inspiring mentor, Tamas’ skill, determination and compassion have distinguished him as one of the most respected figures in the sport worldwide.

Tamas was born in Budapest, Hungary in July 5, 1952.  He is a two-time Olympian with an enviable record of achievement at the ICF championships, winning 13 medals (four gold, five silver and four bronze) over his career.

In 1987, after his retirement from competition, the Canadian Kayak/Canoe Association asked Tamas to come to Canada to assume the position of National Team Canoe Coach, a position which he held for 25 years.  Initially, Tamas’ primary task was to coach Canadian canoe legend Larry Cain who was the first in a long line of athletes who benefited from being coached by Tamas Buday.  That list includes two of Tamas’ sons, Attila and Tamas Jr., who were themselves three-time Canadian Olympians.

In addition to Tamas’ highly regarded coaching skills, he was responsible for establishing an enduring and strong relationship between the paddling communities in Canada and Hungary.  His efforts in this area resulted in significant benefits for both countries over Tamas’ many years of coaching. He is, even today, held in the highest of regard in both countries by management and athletes alike.

He is a coach for whom no task was too small. His heart is as big as his talent. He has hauled trailers, organized training camps where international paddlers were always welcomed, housed, nurtured and taken care of athletes who would otherwise been unprepared for races.

Today, although retired from the Canadian National Team, Tamas is still coaching all levels at the Mississauga Canoe Club, from beginners to masters.  Above all, Tamas is universally regarded as a kind, a humble gentleman who is always ready to lend a hand, within the sport or even outside of it.

For his personal achievements as an athlete, his continued and relentless love of the sport, his accomplishments as a coach and his boundless capacity to help, Tamas Buday Sr. is a deserving nominee for the Lifetime Achievement award.

His athletes achievements include:

• 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games- Steve Giles, Dan Howe, Buday Brothers
• 2000 Sydney Olympic Games- Steve Giles, Buday Brothers
• 2004 Athens Olympic Games- Steve Giles, Buday Brothers
• 2008 Bejing Olympic Games- Andrew Russell Gabriel Bouchen-Sevigny
• 2002 Sevilla Spain World Championships-  C-4 1000m SIVER MEDAL- Dimitri Jukovski, Maxime Boillard, Tamas Buday Jr.and  Attila Buday
• 2003 Gainsville, USA World Championships- C-4 1000m SILVER MEDAL-  Dimitri Jukovski, Maxime Boillard, Tamas Buday Jr and Attila Buday
• 2006 Szeged, Hungary World Championships-  C-2 1000m SIVER MEDAL- Tamas Buday JR and Attila Buday
• 2006 Szeged, Hungary World Championships- C-4 1000m SILVER MEDAL- Andrew Roussel, Thomas Hall, Dimitri Jukovski, and Kyle Jefferies.
   

Other achievements:

• In 2011 he recieved the Petro Canada Coaching Excellence award
• In 2012 he was inducted in the Sports Hall of Fame in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

This is a 2017 archived nominee. Voting has closed.