Joe Kovacs – alias Józsi Kovács – is a two-time world champion, a two-time Olympic silver medalist, and recently won a silver medal at the World Cup in Eugene, so if we look at his balanced performance, he is probably the best shot putter in the world. At that time, her grandfather emigrated from Szentpéterfa in Vas County to the United States, and “little” Jóska still knows a few words of Hungarian. As he proved this on Monday evening in Székesfehérvár, after he won with a throw of 22.89 meters and said a few words to the spectators. Then he took his numerous St. Petersburg relatives to dinner.
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The 33-year-old shot putter, Joe Kovacs, has always been proud of his Hungarian grandfather, his St. Petersburg relatives, and in general, his Hungarian heritage. It is no wonder that he seized the opportunity and invited 12 of his relatives from St. Petersburg to the István Gyulai Memorial Athletics Hungarian Grand Prix at the Bregyó Sports Center in Székesfehérvár. The 134-kilogram giant for his height of 183 centimeters confidently won with a throw of 22.89 meters, setting his best this year, to the great delight of the audience.
Twelve of my Hungarian relatives cheered me on in the auditorium, whom I will take to dinner tonight, Kovacs said after the race. – I last saw them fifteen years ago, it was wonderful to meet the relatives again. Today is a great day, I am ready to throw 23 meters in the remaining three competitions of the Diamond League. I’m looking forward to the clash with my fellow world champion, Ryan Crouser, who I beat by just 5 inches in Eugene.
At the end of the competition, outside the stadium, the fans did not want to let go of the extremely popular Kovacs, who took selfies with Hungarian athletic friends for at least a quarter of an hour. Then he uploaded a photo on his Instagram with his relatives, who came to the competition with a huge Hungarian flag with the inscription St. Peter’s Tree on it.
The text of the post is as follows:
It was so wonderful to finally compete in Hungary. I’ve always wanted this. My grandfather emigrated from Hungary to the USA. He shared so many memories of Hungary with me, and when I was little, I was lucky enough to travel home with him to St. Petersburg, his home village. It was a great race, I’m excited about my win and the fact that I threw the shot put over 75 feet three times. The best part of the day was not that for me, but that my relatives came from St. Petersburg and cheered me on. After the race, we talked, looked at old photos, and planned to meet again. Thank you for coming! I love you! And a big thank you to the Hungarian shot putter László Kovács for the special T-shirt he sewed from the Hungarian and American flags for me and my incoming twins.
(Cover photo: The eventual winner Joe Kovacs from the United States in the men’s shot put final at the István Gyulai Memorial international athletics competition in Székesfehérvár on August 8, 2022. Photo: Tamás Vasvári / MTI)
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