The Katalin Kovács National Kayak-Canoe Academy (KKNKKA) in Sukoro was handed over in a ceremonial setting on Saturday morning, which is in some ways unique in the world.

Viktor Orbán gave a speech at the ceremony, who emphasized that it is necessary to keep up with the world's leading players, not only on the field, not only in the water, but also in preparation and in the quality of sports facilities.

Although we have beautiful rivers and beautiful lakes, Hungary is still located in the middle of the land - pointed out the Prime Minister at the handover, who said that despite

Hungarians have a special relationship with water sports.

"Water polo, swimming and kayaking have always been the flagships of Hungarian elite sports. More recently, we have also been "braving" on the open water, and our sailboats have been commanding the teams of large seafaring peoples behind them," the prime minister added.

The prime minister recalled: the last Olympics showed how easy it is to miss the top step of the podium. That is why it is necessary to keep up with the world's leading players in terms of preparation and the quality of sports facilities, emphasized Viktor Orbán.

He put it this way: you can't win without participation, and participating means that we make sport a part of our lives. If anyone knows what long-term work is, then Katalin Kovács, who with 31 world championship titles is the world's most successful female kayaker, can also claim 29 European championship titles and three Olympic gold medals, praised the head of the academy.

The prime minister quoted Katalin Kovács and then spoke about how the example of our Olympic champion also shows that community and dissatisfaction perceived as personal ambition are the two main drivers of success.

Without a community, not only are there no water sports, but there is no nation either

Viktor Orbán declared.

According to the Prime Minister, it does not matter what kind of experiences the future generation brings to adulthood. Because, as he said, today our children live in an increasingly isolated world, and moreover, they are under constant supervision and control. The great social freedom in which his own generation grew up no longer exists. However, adapted to the needs of our time, community, joint effort, physical strength and skill must still appear in children's lives, and sport is the most suitable for this, Viktor Orbán indicated, adding.

He added: you can really do sports in a community, performance is measured in a community, because "there is no such thing as someone runs faster than the others in their head, or has already won the Olympics in their dreams" . You have to stand out on the pasture, you have to get into the boat, you have to stand on the track to find out what the work done is worth, he stated.

According to Viktor Orbán, athletes know that the community gives them strength and endurance.

Values ​​such as trust, perseverance, the honor of a given word, or camaraderie can best be learned from sports

he added.

He also touched on the fact that another prerequisite for the nation's success is ambition, that we should not be satisfied with just the good. These are skills that Hungary will greatly need in the period ahead, he said.

He reminded:

in the last 35 years, although there were difficulties, the world lived a basically peaceful era. It was possible to achieve success with simple life strategies and slightly better than average performance, but in the future, more will be needed, according to the prime minister.

Hungary will need those who are able to always "raise the bar". This is why the Hungarian government invests in sports and why it creates sports academies such as the Katalin Kovács National Kayak-Canoe Academy, emphasized Viktor Orbán.

He emphasized: despite crises, epidemics and wars, a world-class sports center was created on the shores of Lake Venice. So there is a first-class sports field, a high-quality education, and there is also a good community. He has everything he needs to succeed, "in the future there won't be a Czech hero who will surprise us in our own numbers", he said.

Great things are waiting for the Hungarians in the coming years, and they have to climb back to the top of the world in the kayak-canoe sport as well.

concluded the Prime Minister.

MTI

Featured image: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán gives a speech at the opening ceremony of the Katalin Kovács National Kayak-Canoe Academy in Sukoro on October 12, 2024. The sports complex covers more than 20,000 square meters on the shores of Lake Velence. MTI/Koszticsák Solid