Istvan Gyulai Memorial

Plaque name: Istvan Gyulai Memorial

Location: Hungarian Athletics Association, House of Hungarian Sports, Budapest, Istvánmezei út 1-3, 1146 Hungary

Plaque awarded: 18/07/2023

Reason: Plaque Category – Competition

The Istvan Gyulai Memorial, which is a member of the annual Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix series, was founded in 2011, and because of its young age would superficially seem to be an unusual recipient of a heritage award.

However, the meeting is linked to two of the most influential figures in Hungarian athletics history and has been an important engine for the development of the sport in Hungary since its creation.

The Memorial is the successor of the world-famous Budapest Grand Prix of the 1980s and was created in memory of Istvan Gyulai (b.1943 to d.2006), annually celebrating the sporting legacy of the 1964 Olympic sprinter who was a 28-time Hungarian athletics champion.

Gyulai, a written and broadcast sports journalist and commentator, was Head of Sport of Hungarian Television (MTV). An IAAF Council Member from 1984 to 2001, he later served as the General Secretary of both the IAAF (1991 to 2006) and the International Sports Press Association from 1989 to 1992. He was also Chairman of the IAAF Press Commission from 1991 to 2003,

Vice-President of Hungarian Athletics Association from 1991 – 2001, Gyulai was appointed Honorary Life President of the Hungarian Athletics Federation in 2001.

Every year the athlete with the best result at the Gyulai István Memorial as calculated by the World Athletics Scoring Tables receives the Dr. Bojidar Spiriev Trophy.

The award is made in memory of Dr. Bojidar Spiriev who four decades ago invented the scoring tables which serve as a basis for the current World Athletics World Rankings. Each year the trophy is presented by Attila Spiriev, son of Dr. Bojidar Spiriev and sports director of the Istvan Gyulai Memorial – Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix.