Success on the Athletics Track
“I have been doing athletics for a year and a half now. At first, it was just a hobby for me, but later on, I got better at it. My coach, István Filákovity (Coach Fila), didn’t let my talent go to waste, so I ended up among the better ones, getting used to their pace. When I first ran a 600-meter race, my time was 2:07. Coach Fila encouraged me, saying it wasn’t a bad time. I didn’t really believe him, but I accepted it. In the next race in Bóly, I came first with a time of 2:05. I was very happy with this result, and it motivated me. From then on, I worked much harder in training than before. The next race was the Cross Country Running Competition, where my age group had to run 2 km. I came fourth in the district finals. A few weeks later, the county finals were held in Pécs, where I finished 6th in the county. Then came the National Running Competition finals, where I finished 45th. Recently, several school competitions were also held: the Regional Athletics Pentathlon/Combined Individual and Team Competition, where I came 2nd individually and 1st in the team. The Baranya County Student Olympics individual competition, where I finished 1st in the 600 meters with a time of 1:49.12, and thus qualified for the national competition, for which my coach said, ‘With a fantastic run of the day, with a huge personal best.’ I didn’t do as well in the Budapest League competition; I ran 1:50 here, but still finished 4th. At the National Student Olympics, I competed in the 600 meters and relay. There were four of us in the relay team, and we ran so well that we came 2nd. The 600-meter run was before the relay, where I finished 14th out of 44. I think this wasn’t a bad result, and I was able to improve my personal best, which was 1:49.02. The person who won the 600-meter flat race did it in 1:37, which would be a dream for me too. I know everything can’t always go perfectly, but I strive to achieve better results. Next year, I hope to achieve a time under 1:40 because that would mean a lot. You have to work hard just to be taken to a competition, let alone compete there. And it’s already a great achievement if you get on the podium. The best feeling in the world is when you stand there and everyone applauds, knowing that you’ve worked hard for it. All this hard work was worth it for me.” – Viktória Prevácz, Mohács Group 1
