2018 Csaba Szanto - Hungary

Csaba Szanto (Hungary)—Nominee for the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award

Born: 1945, Sport: Canoe Sprint

With more than five decades devoted to the sport of Canoe Sprint, Csaba Szanto is uniquely qualified in the field. In fact, there is probably no other specialist in the canoe sport, who has served and worked in so many places and so many different capacities. He has coached Olympic champions, but he has been equally successful with beginners, and he has contributed to the development of the canoe discipline in many countries across the globe.

Szanto’s remarkable contributions to the sport of canoe can be divided into three phases: his years as a competitive athlete, his years as a coach, and his time with the International Canoe Federation.

As a professional competitor in Sprint Canoe for 15 years and a member of the Hungarian National Team for 10 of those years, Szanto counts among his accomplishments more than a dozen national championships, several medals in international competitions and a bronze medal at the World Championships.

From 1975 to 1990 he served as head coach for a club in Budapest, trained the Hungarian National Canoe Team for seven years, and coached the USA Olympic team for three years. His best athletes medaled at various world championships, including an Olympic gold medal. In addition, he chaired the Budapest Sport Club Coaches/Medical Committee (responsible for 11 different sports), served as a member of the Hungarian Canoe Federation Coaches Committee, and consulted to the PH University Budapest.

Since 1991, Szanto has worked for the International Canoe Federation in a number of critical capacities. While living in Japan in the 90s, He was responsible for developing the sport of Canoe/Kayak in Asia, introducing the sport to more than a dozen countries and conducting several coaching and athlete seminars every year. From 2000 to 2010 he also served as the ICF Technical Director, responsible for development and the Coach’s Education Programme.

While he retired in 2010 and moved back to Hungary, Szanto continues to work for the ICF, in a similar capacity to his pre-retirement roles. In the course of his career, he has attended seven Olympic Games and 20 World Championships. He was also the Event Delegate for the three Youth Olympic Games that have happened to date, as well as six Asian Games. He has also written a series of books and technical guides on the sport of Canoe/Kayak.