David Beckham

David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE (born 2 May 1975) is an English professional footballer, who plays in midfield. He currently plays for and captains Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy[2] and is also a member of the England national team. He earned his 100th cap for England against France in March 2008.
He has twice been runner-up for FIFA World Player of the Year, and in 2004 was the world's highest-paid footballer.[3] He was Google's most searched of all sports topics in both 2003 and 2004.[4] Such global recognition has made him an elite advertising brand and a top fashion icon.[5][6] Beckham was captain of England from 15 November 2000 to 2 July 2006. He made 58 appearances as captain, and ended his tenure in that role after the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals. He continued to make contributions for the England national team in 2007 competitions.[7] Beckham captained Manchester United for the first time on October 21st 2000 in a Premiership match against Leeds United, coming on as a substitute for injured team captain Roy Keane. Beckham went on to score a free-kick in this match, which finished 3-0.
Beckham's career began when he signed a professional contract with Manchester United, making his first-team debut in 1992 aged 17. During his time there, United won the Premier League title six times, the FA Cup twice, and the UEFA Champions League in 1999. He left Manchester United to sign for Real Madrid in 2003, where he remained for four seasons. While at Madrid, Beckham became the first British footballer to play 100 Champions League matches. In his final season, Real clinched the 2006-07 La Liga championship title (Beckham's only major trophy with the club) in the final game of the season on 17 June. In January 2007, it was announced that Beckham would leave Real Madrid and sign a five-year contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy.[8]
Beckham's new contract with the Galaxy, effective 1 July 2007, gave him the highest salary of any MLS player in history. He debuted for the team on 21 July in a friendly versus Chelsea at the Home Depot Center,[9] and on 15 August, he had his first start with the team, scoring his first goal in the 2007 SuperLiga semi-final. His first league start then came on 18 August in front of a record crowd at Giants Stadium.

Beckham was born at Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone, London, England; the son of David Edward Alan "Ted" Beckham (b. Edmonton, London, July-September 1948), a kitchen fitter and Manchester United fan, and wife (m. London Borough of Hackney, 1969) Sandra Georgina West (b. 1949),[11] a hairdresser. He regularly played football in Ridgeway Park, Chingford as a child. He attended Chase Lane Primary School and Chingford Foundation School as a child. His maternal grandfather is Jewish,[12] although Beckham has referred to himself as "half Jewish"[13] and spoken of the influence the religion has had on him. In his book Both Feet on the Ground, he stated that growing up he always attended church with his parents and his two sisters, Joanne and Lynne. His parents were fanatical Manchester United supporters who would frequently travel to Old Trafford from London to attend Manchester United's home matches. David inherited his parents' love of Manchester United and his main sporting passion was football. He attended one of Bobby Charlton's football schools in Manchester and won the chance to take part in a training session at FC Barcelona, as part of a talent competition. As a child he played for a local youth team called the Ridgeway Rovers - coached by his father, Stuart Underwood and Steve Kirby. He was a Manchester United mascot for a match against West Ham United in 1986. Young Beckham had trials with his local club Leyton Orient, Norwich City and attended Tottenham Hotspur's, which was the first club he played for, school of excellence. During a two-year period in which he played for Brimsdown Rovers' youth team, he was named Under-15 Player of the Year in 1990.[14] He also attended Bradenton Preparatory Academy, but signed schoolboy forms at Manchester United on his fourteenth birthday, and subsequently signed a Youth Training Scheme contract on 8 July 1991.

Former manager Sir Alex Ferguson said that he "practised with a discipline to achieve an accuracy that other players wouldn't care about."[66] He maintained his training routine at Real Madrid and even when his relationship with management was strained in early 2007, Ramon Calderon and Fabio Capello praised Beckham for maintaining his professionalism and commitment to the club.[67][68]
Beckham was the first England player ever to collect two red cards and the first England captain to be sent off.[69] Beckham's most notorious red card was during the 1998 FIFA World Cup: after Argentina's Diego Simeone had fouled him, Beckham lashed out with his leg and the Argentine fell. England went on to lose the game on penalties.
For Real Madrid he amassed 41 yellow cards and 4 red cards.[70]
Beckham helped to keep Wayne Rooney's temper in check on several occasions.

David Robert Joseph Beckham, (1975. május 2. – ) angol profi válogatott labdarúgó, posztját tekintve középpályás. Az OBE kitüntetés birtokosa. Pelé FIFA 100-ának, és 2004-ben a Time magazin Time 100-ának tagja.David Beckham a legismertebb angol játékos, kis túlzással a legismertebb és legelismertebb európai sztárfutballista és médiasztár. Jelenleg a Major League Soccer-ben szereplő Los Angeles Galaxy játékosa. Századik válogatottságát az angol nemzeti színekben a franciák ellen ünnepelte 2008 márciusában. A FIFA által rendezett világ legjobb labdarúgója szavazáson kétszer is dobogós helyen végzett. 2004-ben a világ legjobban fizetett futballistája. A Google keresőjében az ő nevére kerestek rá a legtöbbször sport témakörben 2003-ban és 2004-ben egyaránt. A válogatott kapitánya volt 2000. november 15-től 2006. július 2-ig. 58 mérkőzésen szerepelt a válogatottban, mint csapatkapitány. A Manchester United csapatkapitányi karszalagját először (ideiglenesen) 2000. október 21-én húzhatta magára egy Leeds United elleni angol bajnokin. A Manchester United "hivatalos" csapatkapitánya Roy Keane volt és Beckham a helyére csereként érkezett sérülése után. Beállása után szabadrúgásból gólt is szerzett, a mérkőzést 3-0-ra a United nyerte.
Beckham karrierje a Manchester Unitednél profi szerződésének aláírása után kezdődött. A felnőtt csapatban 1992-ben debütált mindössze 17 évesen. A Manchester Unitednél eltöltött ideje alatt a United hatszor nyerte meg a Premier League-et, kétszer az FA kupát és egyszer az UEFA Bajnokok Ligáját 1999-ben. A Manchester Unitedet 2003-ban hagyta el, hogy karrierjét a Real Madrid gárdájában folytathassa. A Madridban eltöltött négy szezonja alatt Beckham lett az első brit futballista aki elérte 100 UEFA Bajnokok Ligája szereplést. Utolsó madridi szezonjában a 2007. június 17-én a Real Madrid megnyerte a 2006-07-es spanyol bajnokságot. Ez az egyetlen, Madriddal elnyert trófeája. Már 2007. januárjában bejelentették a Real Madridtól történő eligazolását, hogy aláírhassa 5 évre szóló szerződését a Major League Soccerben szereplő Los Angeles Galaxy csapatával.
Beckham új szerződése 2007. július 1-jén lépett életbe, ezzel ő vált az MLS legjobban fizetett játékosává. Első mérkőzését a Los Angeles Galaxy színeiben 2007. július 21-én játszotta egy Chelsea elleni barátságos mérkőzésen. Első gólját a 2007-es SuperLiga elődöntőjében szerezte. A bajnokságban először 2007. augusztus 15-én lépett pályára rekord nézőszám előtt.

Észak-Londonban, Leytonstone-ban született a Whipps Cross kórházban, Angliában. Apja Alan "Ted" Beckham konyhai alkalmazott és nem utolsó sorban Manchester United-rajongó. Anyja Sandra Georgina West, foglalkozása szerint fodrász.Beckham gyerekkorában sokat focizott a chingfordi Ridgeway Parkban. A Chase Lane Általános Iskolába és a Chingfordi Alapítványi Iskolába járt. Életrajzi könyvében említést tesz arról, hogy gyerekkorában rendszeresen templomba járt a szüleivel és két húgával, Joanne-al és Lynne-el. Szülei fanatikus Manchester United szurkolók voltak és gyakran elutaztak Manchesterbe, hogy láthassák hazai pályán, az Old Traffordon játszani a Unitedet. A kis David örökölte szülei Manchester United iránti rajongását és a futball iránti szenvedélyét. Imádott focizni, ezért beíratkozott Bobby Charlton egyik manchesteri futballiskolájába, sőt később egy tehetségkutató versenyen elért eredménye miatt részt vehetett az FC Barcelona egyik edzésén is. Gyerekként először az apja által edzett, helyi fiatalokból álló csapatban a Ridgeway Roversben játszott. Elég közelről szemlélhette a Manchester United 1986-os West Ham United elleni mérkőzését, mivel a Manchester United kabalája volt. A fiatal Beckham próbajátékon vett részt többek között a helyi klubnál, a Leyton Orientnél, valamint Norwich Citynél és tagja volt a Tottenham Hotspur akadémiájának is, sőt az akadémia csapatának színeiben pályára is lépett. Ez volt az első komolyabb csapata. A két éves, Brimsdon Rovers utánpótlás csapatánál eltöltött időszaka alatt, 1990-ben az év U15-ös játékosának választották. Többek között a Bradenton Preparation Academy tagja is volt, ám végül 14 évesen a Manchester United utánpótláscsapatába került. Tehetségét felismervén, 16 éves korában 1991. július 8-án megkötötte előszerződését a Manchester United-el.

Beckham hírneve már túllépett a futballpálya keretein, a világ nagy részében a neve összefonodott olyan multinacionális nagyvállalatokkal, mint a Coca-Cola vagy az IBM. Beckham kapcsolata és házassága Victoriával, aki korábban Posh Spice-ként a népszerű Spice Girls lánycsapat tagja volt, közrejátszott David népszerűségének növekedésének a futballon túl.
Beckhame neve márkanév lett, és Victoriával együtt a pár olyan véleményalkotó erővé vált, mint ami korábban csak ruhatervezők, életmód és fitnessz specialisták, divatmagazinonk, parfüm- és kozmetikumgyártók, fodrászok és wellness cégek kiváltsága volt. Legújabb példa erre a Beckham nevével fémjelzett David Beckham Fragrances kozmetikum-család.
2002-ben a metroszexuális kifejezés megalkotója Beckhamet tekintette kifejezése legtökéletesebb példájának, és az újságok azóta gyakran hivatkoznak rá így.
2007-ben a Beckham-család 13.7 millió dollárért indította el kozmetikum-családját az Egyesült Államokban. A divatvilágban Beckham már korábban is jelen volt, számtalan magazin címlapján jelent már meg.
A Google keresőjében az ő nevére kerestek rá a legtöbbször sport témakörben 2003-ban és 2004-ben egyaránt.
2007. július 22-én egy hatalmas, a los angelesi kortárs művészetek múzeumában tartott zártkörű partin köszöntötték a párt olyan hírességek, mint Steven Spielberg, Jim Carrey, George Clooney, Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith és Oprah Winfrey.

Garry Kasparov

Garry Kasparov (born as Garry Kimovich Weinstein[1] on April 13, 1963, in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union; now Azerbaijan) is a Russian chess grandmaster widely regarded to have been the greatest player of all time, former World Chess Champion, writer and political activist.
Kasparov became the youngest ever World Chess Champion in 1985. He held the official FIDE world title until 1993, when a dispute with FIDE led him to set up a rival organization, the Professional Chess Association. He continued to hold the "Classical" World Chess Championship until his defeat by Vladimir Kramnik in 2000. He is also widely known for being the first world chess champion to lose a match to a computer, when he lost to Deep Blue in 1997.
Kasparov's ratings achievements include being rated world #1 according to Elo rating almost continuously from 1986 until his retirement in 2005 and holding the all-time highest rating of 2851. He also holds records for consecutive tournament victories and Chess Oscars.
Kasparov announced his retirement from professional chess on March 10, 2005, to devote his time to politics and writing. He formed the United Civil Front movement, and joined as a member of The Other Russia, a coalition opposing the administration of Vladimir Putin. He was a candidate for the 2008 Russian presidential race, but later withdrew. Widely regarded in the West as a symbol of opposition to Putin, Kasparov's support in Russia is low.

Garry Kasparov was born Garry Weinstein (Russian: Гарри Вайнштейн) in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR to a Armenian mother and Jewish father. He first began the serious study of chess after he came across a chess problem set up by his parents and proposed a solution.[4] His father died of leukemia when he was seven years old.[5] At the age of twelve, he adopted his mother's Armenian surname, Kasparyan, modifying it to a more Russified version, Kasparov. [6]
From age 7, Kasparov attended the Young Pioneer Palace and, at 10 began training at Mikhail Botvinnik's chess school under noted coach Vladimir Makogonov. Makogonov helped develop Kasparov's positional skills and taught him to play the Caro-Kann Defence and the Tartakower System of the Queen's Gambit Declined.[7] Kasparov won the Soviet Junior Championship in Tbilisi in 1976, scoring 7 points of 9, at age 13. He repeated the feat the following year, winning with a score of 8½ of 9. He was being trained by Alexander Sakharov during this time.
In 1978, Kasparov participated in the Sokolsky Memorial tournament in Minsk. He had been invited as an exception but took first place and became a chess master. Kasparov has repeatedly said that this event was a turning point in his life, and that it convinced him to choose chess as his career. "I will remember the Sokolsky Memorial as long as I live", he wrote. He has also said that after the victory, he thought he had a very good shot at the World Championship.[8]
He first qualified for the Soviet Chess Championship at age 15 in 1978, the youngest ever player at that level. He won the 64-player Swiss system tournament at Daugavpils over tiebreak from Igor V. Ivanov, to capture the sole qualifying place.
Kasparov rose quickly through the FIDE (World Chess Federation) rankings. Starting with an oversight by the Russian Chess Federation, he participated in a Grandmaster tournament in Banja Luka, Yugoslavia, in 1979 while still unrated (the federation thought it was a junior tournament). He won this high-class tournament, emerging with a provisional rating of 2595, enough to catapult him to the top group of chess players (at the time, number 3 in the World, ex-champion Boris Spassky had 2630, while World Champion Anatoly Karpov 2690–2700). The next year, 1980, he won the World Junior Chess Championship in Dortmund, West Germany. Later that year, he made his debut as second reserve for the Soviet Union at the Chess Olympiad at La Valletta, Malta, and became a Grandmaster.

As a teenager, Kasparov twice tied for first place in the USSR Chess Championship, in 1980–81 and 1981–82. His first win in a superclass-level international tournament was scored at Bugojno 1982. He earned a place in the 1982 Moscow Interzonal tournament, which he won, to qualify for the Candidates Tournament.[9] At age 19, he was the youngest Candidate since Bobby Fischer, who was 15 when he qualified in 1958. At this stage, he was already the #2-rated player in the world, trailing only World Chess Champion Anatoly Karpov on the January 1983 list.
Kasparov's first (quarter-final) Candidates match was against Alexander Beliavsky, whom Kasparov defeated 6–3 (four wins, one loss).[10] Politics threatened Kasparov's semi-final against Viktor Korchnoi, which was scheduled to be played in Pasadena, California. Korchnoi had defected from the Soviet Union in 1976, and was at that time the strongest active non-Soviet player. Various political maneuvers prevented Kasparov from playing Korchnoi, and Kasparov forfeited the match. This was resolved by Korchnoi allowing the match to be replayed in London, along with the previously scheduled match between Vasily Smyslov and Zoltan Ribli. The Kasparov-Korchnoi match was put together on short notice by Raymond Keene. Kasparov lost the first game but won the match 7–4 (four wins, one loss).
In 1984, he won the Candidates' final 8½–4½ (four wins, no losses) against the resurgent former world champion Vasily Smyslov, at Vilnius, thus qualifying to play Anatoly Karpov for the World Championship. That year he joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), and was elected to the Central Committee of Komsomol.

The World Chess Championship 1984 match between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov had many ups and downs, and a very controversial finish. Karpov started in very good form, and after nine games Kasparov was down 4–0 in a "first to six wins" match. Fellow players predicted he would be whitewashed 6–0 within 18 games.[citation needed]
But Kasparov dug in and battled Karpov to 17 successive draws. He lost game 27, then fought back with another series of draws until game 32, his first-ever win against the World Champion. Another 15 successive draws followed, through game 46; the previous record length for a world title match had been 34 games, the match of Jose Capablanca vs. Alexander Alekhine in 1927.
At this point Karpov, 12 years older than Kasparov, was close to exhaustion, and did not look like the player who started the match. Kasparov won games 47 and 48 to bring the scores to 5–3 in Karpov's favour. Then the match was ended without result by Florencio Campomanes, the President of Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE), and a new match was announced to start a few months later.
The termination was controversial, as both players stated that they preferred the match to continue. Announcing his decision at a press conference, Campomanes cited the health of the players, which had been strained by the length of the match, with Karpov having lost 10 kg (22 lb) during the match.[11] But Kasparov was in excellent health and extremely resentful of Campomanes' decision, asking him why he was abandoning the match if both players wanted to continue. Kasparov had won the last two games before the suspension, and some observers believed that he would go on to win despite his 5–3 deficit. He appeared to be physically stronger than his opponent, and in the later games seemed to have been playing the better chess.
The match became the first, and so far only, world championship match to be abandoned without result. Kasparov's relations with Campomanes and FIDE were greatly strained, and the feud between them eventually came to a head in 1993 with Kasparov's complete break-away from FIDE.

Kasparov joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) in 1984, and in 1987 was elected to the Central Committee of Komsomol. But in 1990 he left the party, and in May took part in the creation of the Democratic Party of Russia. In June 1993, he was involved in the creation of the "Choice of Russia" bloc of parties, and in 1996 he took part in the election campaign of Boris Yeltsin. In 2001 he voiced his support for the Russian television TV channel NTV.[19]
After his retirement from chess in 2005, Kasparov turned to politics and created the United Civil Front, a social movement whose main goal is to "work to preserve electoral democracy in Russia."[20] He has vowed to "restore democracy" to Russia by toppling the elected Russian president Vladimir Putin, of whom he is an outspoken critic.[21][22][23]
Kasparov was instrumental in setting up The Other Russia, a coalition which oppose Putin's government. The Other Russia has been boycotted by the leaders of Russia's democratic opposition parties, Yabloko and Union of Right Forces as they are concerned about its inclusion of radical nationalist and left-wing groups such as the National Bolshevik Party and former members of the Rodina party including Viktor Gerashchenko, a potential presidential candidate. But regional branches of Yabloko and the Union of Right Forces have opted to take part in the coalition. Kasparov says that leaders of these parties are controlled by the Kremlin,[24] despite the fact they are both strongly opposed to the president's policies.
On April 10, 2005, Kasparov was in Moscow at a promotional event when he was struck over the head with a chessboard he had just signed. The assailant was reported to have said "I admired you as a chess player, but you gave that up for politics" immediately before the attack.[25] Kasparov has been the subject of a number of other episodes since.

Kasparov helped organize the Saint Petersburg Dissenters' March on March 3, 2007 and The March of the Dissenters on March 24, 2007, both involving several thousand people rallying against Putin and Saint Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko's policies.[28][29] On April 14, he was briefly arrested by the Moscow police while heading for a demonstration, following warnings by the prosecution office on the eve of the march, stating that anyone participating risked being detained. He was held for some 10 hours, and then fined and released.[30]
He was summoned by FSB for questioning as a suspect in violations of Russian anti-extremism laws.[31] This law was previously applied for the conviction of Boris Stomakhin[32][33]
Speaking about Kasparov, former KGB general Oleg Kalugin has remarked: "I do not talk in details—people who knew them are all dead now because they were vocal, they were open. I am quiet. There is only one man who is vocal, and he may be in trouble: [former] world chess champion [Garry] Kasparov. He has been very outspoken in his attacks on Putin, and I believe that he is probably next on the list."[34]
In 1991, Kasparov received the Keeper of the Flame award from the Center for Security Policy (a US think tank) for his contributions in development of democracy On September 30, 2007, Kasparov entered the Russian Presidential race, receiving 379 of 498 votes at a congress held in Moscow by The Other Russia.[40]
In October 2007, Kasparov announced his intention of standing for the Russian presidency as the candidate of the "Other Russia" coalition, and vowed to fight for a "democratic and just Russia". Later that month he traveled to the United States, where he appeared on several popular television programs, which were hosted by Stephen Colbert, Wolf Blitzer, Bill Maher, and Chris Matthews.
On November 24, 2007, Kasparov and other protesters were detained by police at an Other Russia rally in Moscow. This followed an attempt by about 100 protesters to break through police lines and march on the electoral commission, which had barred Other Russia candidates from parliamentary elections.[41] He was subsequently charged with resisting arrest and organising an unauthorized protest, and given a jail sentence of five days. He was released from jail on November 29.[42]
On December 12, 2007, Kasparov announced that he had to withdraw his presidential candidacy due to inability to rent a meeting hall where at least 500 of his supporters could assemble to endorse his candidacy, as is legally required. With the deadline expiring on that date, he claimed it was impossible for him to run. Kasparov's spokeswoman accused the government of using pressure to deter anyone from renting a hall for the gathering and said that the electoral commission had rejected a proposal that separate smaller gatherings be held at the same time instead of one large gathering at a meeting hall.

Garri Kaszparov (Baku, 1963 - ) világbajnok 1985-től 2000-ig.Kezdettől fogva Karpov ellenfelének tartotta magát. Kaszparov a lehető leghamarabb akarta megfosztani Karpovot címétől. Villámgyors karriert futott be. 1980-ban ifúsági világbajnok, 1982-ben Bugojnóban, 1983-ban Nikšićben hagyta maga mögött a nemzetközi mezőnyt: a sakkvilág megismerte az új csilagot, a dinamikus sakk megtestesítőjét. Az 1983-as és 1984-es világbajnok-jelölt versenyeken meggyőző játékkal verte Beljavszkijt, majd Korcsnojt és Szmiszlovot. Aztán 1985-ben Karpov ellen 5:3-as arányú győzelmet aratott 16 döntetlen mellett, és ő lett a világ legfiatalabb sakkvilágbajnoka. Kaszparov lenyűgöző játékának alapja az, hogy nagyon sok variációt tud igen rövid idő alatt fejben tartani. Stílusa a fantázia. Botvinnik szerint Kaszparov személyesíti meg az újító, kutató sakkozót, szemben elődei racionalista, prakticista felfogásával. Napjainkban Kaszparov az a sakkozó, aki ámulatba ejti a világot romantikus, alkotó elméjével. "Személy szerint a szép, az ihletett, a művészethez közel álló sakk pártján állok, amely esztétikai élvezetet nyújt. Minden egyes játszma - potenciálisan - műalkotás, a sakktáblán remekműveket lehet alkotni."" Újat, mindig újat akar. 1993-ban kivonult a FIDE égisze alól, mérkőzéseit nélküle kívánja lebonyolítani. Ezért "cserébe" a FIDE 1993. március 27-én megfosztotta világbajnoki címétől, ő pedig a FIDE-t fosztotta meg a világbajnokság rendezésétől. 1998-ban létrehozta a Kasparovchess site-ot, amellyel szimbolikusan "meghívta" a világot: legyen a vendége site-ján, tanuljon meg sakkozni, használja ki az Internet nyújtotta lehetőségeket, melyen keresztül is lehet izgalmas csatákat vívni. Az oldal azonban rövid időt élt csak meg. Még 1999-ben kihívta a világot egy sakkjátszmára, melyet - a világ szégyenére - meg is nyert. Ez volt a Kasparov vs The World mérkőzés. Kaszparov 1999. június 21-én meglépett e4-jével kezdetét vette a mérkőzés közte és köztünk, majd közel 4 hónapos - egészen pontosan 124 napos - küzdelem után 1999. október 22-én feladtuk.Rengeteg vád érte a szervezőket, hogy a beküldött lépések közül is csak néha lépték meg azt, amire a legtöbben szavaztak, valamint, hogy az egész nem volt más, mint néhány koordinátor nagymester "sajátos küzdelme Kaszparov ellen, minden internetező szeme láttára". Kaszparov évről-évre minden versenyen, ahol csak elindult, első helyen végzett, bár sokszor beérték vagy megközelítették. Különösen egy személy: Vlagyimir Kramnyik. A kettőjük csatájából az új, 24 éves Kramnyik került ki győztesként, és lett világbajnok 2000-ben. Azóta nagyot fordult vele a világ, különösen 2003-2004 tájára. Ugyanis ezidőtájt számos játszmából vagy csak jó szerencsével vagy sehogy sem került ki győztesként. Volt idő, hogy lehetetlen volt tartani vele a lépést. Ezek az idők azonban már úgy tűnik elmúltak.

Alfréd Hajós - Hajós Alfréd

Alfréd Hajós (February 1, 1878 – November 12, 1955) was an Hungarian swimmer and architect. He was the first modern Olympic swimming champion.
He was born in Budapest, Hungary as Arnold Guttmann. He was 13 years old when he felt compelled to become a good swimmer after his father drowned in the Danube River, and then took the name Hajós (sailor in Hungarian) for his athletic career because it was an Hungarian name.
In 1896, Hajós was an architecture student in Hungary when the Athens Games took place. He was allowed to compete, but permission from the university to miss class had not come easy. When he returned to the Dean of the Polytechnical University, the dean did not congratulate Hajós on his Olympic success, but instead said: "Your medals are of no interest to me, but I am eager to hear your replies in your next examination."
At the 1896 Games, the swimming events were held in the Mediterranean Sea battling the elements. The 18-year old Hajós won his two gold medals in extremely cold weather (the water temperature was about 50 degrees Fahrenheit, or 10 degrees Celsius) with 12-foot (4-metre) waves crashing down on him. He won the 100 metre freestyle with a time of 1:22.2, and the 1,200 metre freestyle in 18:22.2. Hajós wanted to win all three distances, but the 500 metre freestyle was immediately after the 100 and immediately before the 1,200. Before the 1,200 metre race, he smeared his body with a half-inch (one centimetre) thick layer of grease, but it proved to be of little protection against the cold. He confessed after winning the race that, "my will to live completely overcame my desire to win." While at a dinner honoring Olympic winners, the Crown Prince of Greece asked Hajós where he had learned to swim so well. Hajós replied, "In the water." He was the youngest winner in Athens.
Prior to the Athens Olympics, Hajós was the 100 metre freestyle European swimming champion in 1895 and 1896.
A versatile athlete, he won Hungary's 100 metre sprint championship in 1898, as well as the National 400 metre hurdles and discus titles. He also played forward on Hungary's national soccer championship teams of 1901, 1902, 1903.
In 1924, Hajós, an architect specializing in sport facilities, entered the art competitions at the Paris Olympic Games. His plan for a stadium, devised together with Dezső Lauber (who played tennis in the 1908 Summer Olympics), was awarded the silver medal; the jury did not award a gold medal in the competition.
The best known sports facility designed by Hajós is the swimming stadion built on Margitsziget (Margaret Island) in the Danube in Budapest, which was built in 1930, and used for the 1958 and 2006 European Swimming Championships, and the 2006 FINA Men's Water Polo World Cup.
In 1953, the International Olympic Committee awarded him the Olympic diploma of merit. He is a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame, and in 1981 he was also made a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
His brother Henrik Hajós won gold medal in 4x250 m Freestyle swimming at 1906 Olympic Games in Athens.
Hajós Alfréd (eredetileg Guttmann Arnold) (Budapest, 1878. február 1. – Budapest, 1955. november 12.) építész, az első magyar olimpiai bajnok.
Budapesti izraelita családból származott. Miután a Műegyetemen oklevelet szerzett, Alpár Ignác irodájában, majd Lechner Ödönnel dolgozott. 1907-ben nyitott önálló irodát. Sikerrel vett részt pályázatokon, amelyek főleg vidéki megbízatásokhoz juttatták. 1924-ben a párizsi olimpia szellemi versenyében egy stadiontervével ezüstérmet szerzett (Lauber Dezsővel közösen). Visszaemlékezései 1956-ban jelentek meg Budapesten Így lettem olimpiai bajnok címen. Beceneve a "magyar delfin" volt.

1896-ban Athénban, az első újkori olimpiai játékokon megnyerte mind a 100 m-es, mind pedig az 1200 m-es úszószámot, ezzel ő szerezte a magyar sport első és második olimpiai aranyérmét. 1899-től, mikor megszerezte építészmérnöki diplomáját, felhagyott az aktív sportolással, de mint sportújságíró, illetve a Magyar Olimpai Bizottság tagja tovább támogatta a sportmozgalmat.
Játszott a magyar labdarúgó-válogatott első mérkőzésén 1902. október 12-én, Bécsben, balösszekötőként. 1906 őszén két mérkőzésen a válogatott szövetségi kapitánya volt.

Főbb építészeti munkái

Eleinte szecessziós, majd eklektikus, kiforrott korában konstruktív, modern szellemű, leginkább olasz hatású stílusban alkotott:

Aranybika szálló (Debrecen)
Lőcsey Gimnázium (Debrecen)
a Nagy Lajos Gimnázium épülete (Szombathely)
Református Egyház Zsinati Központja (Budapest)
UTE Stadion (Újpest, Megyeri út) – 1922-ben tervezte
Nemzeti Sportuszoda (Budapest, Margit-sziget)
Millenáris Sportpálya
Miskolci sporttelep
Pápai sporttelep
Szegedi sporttelep
Kaposvári sporttelep
Leányiskola (Pozsony)
Népkerti Vigadó (Miskolc)
Weidlich-palota (Miskolc), 1911
Szegedi Úszóegyesület Uszodája (SZÚE, ma Ligetfürdő), 1930

Boris Franz Becker

Boris Franz Becker (born November 22, 1967) is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from Germany. He is a six-time Grand Slam singles champion, an Olympic gold medalist, and the youngest-ever winner of the men's singles title at Wimbledon at the age of 17. Since he retired from the professional tour, media work and his personal life have kept him in the headlines.

Becker was born in Leimen as the only son of the architect who built the tennis centre (Blau-Weiss Tennisklub) where Boris learned the game. Boris turned professional in 1984 and won his first professional doubles title that year in Munich. While his mother is a Czechoslovakian Jew (making him a technical Jew under rabbinic law), Becker himself has never practiced the religion.
As a West German teenager, Becker took the sports world by storm in 1985. He won his first top-level singles title in June at Queen's Club and then, two weeks later on July 7, became the first unseeded player and the first German to win the Wimbledon singles title, defeating Kevin Curren in four sets. At the time, he was the youngest ever male Grand Slam singles champion at 17 years, 7 months (a record later broken by Michael Chang in 1989, who won the French Open when he was 17 years, 3 months). Two months after his triumph, Becker became the youngest winner of the Cincinnati Masters.
In 1986, Becker successfully defended his Wimbledon title, defeating the then-World No. 1 Ivan Lendl in straight sets in the final.
Becker unexpectedly lost in the second round of Wimbledon in 1987. In the Davis Cup that year, Becker and John McEnroe played one of the longest matches in tennis history. Becker won 4–6, 15-13, 8-10, 6–2, 6–2 (at that time, there were no tiebreaks in the Davis Cup). The match lasted 6 hours and 39 minutes.
Becker was back in the Wimbledon final in 1988, where he lost in four sets to Stefan Edberg in a match that marked the start of one of Wimbledon's great rivalries. Becker also helped West Germany win its first Davis Cup in 1988. He won the year-end Masters title in New York, defeating five-time champion Lendl in the final 5–7, 7–6, 3–6, 6–2, 7–6.
1989 was possibly the pinnacle of Becker's career. After losing to Edberg in French Open semi-finals, he defeated Edberg in straight sets in the Wimbledon final, and then beat Lendl in the final of the U.S. Open. He also helped West Germany retain the Davis Cup, winning a long match in the semi-final round against Andre Agassi 6–7, 6–7, 7–6, 6–4, 6–4. The World No. 1 ranking, however, still eluded him.
In 1990, Becker met Edberg for the third consecutive year in the Wimbledon final, losing a long five-set match. He also failed to defend his U.S. Open title, losing to Agassi in the semi-finals.
Becker reached the final of the Australian Open for the first time in his career in 1991, where he defeated Lendl to finally claim the World No. 1 ranking. Another loss to Agassi in the French Open semi-finals kept him from winning the first two Grand Slam tournaments of the year. He was ranked No. 1 for twelve weeks during 1991, though he never managed to finish a year ranked as the World's No. 1 player.
Becker reached his fourth consecutive Wimbledon final in 1991, where he unexpectedly lost in straight sets to his German compatriot Michael Stich. Becker and Stich developed a long-standing fierce rivalry, with the media often comparing up the raw, passionate Becker to the level-headed, suave Stich. However, Becker and Stich teamed up in 1992 to win the men's doubles gold medal at the Olympic Games in Barcelona.
Becker defeated Jim Courier in straight sets to win the 1992 year-end ATP Tour World Championships, held then in Frankfurt.
Becker reached the Wimbledon final for the seventh time in 1995, gaining a measure of revenge over Agassi by defeating him in the semi-finals. In the final, however, he lost in four sets to Pete Sampras. He won the year-end ATP Tour World Championships in Frankfurt that year with a straight-set win over Michael Chang in the final.
Becker's sixth and final Grand Slam title came in 1996, when he defeated Michael Chang in the final of the Australian Open. In that tournament, Becker delivered one of the most humorous victory speeches in recent tennis history. When he listed his sponsors, he cut himself short saying that he did not have the whole day left. He then consoled Chang by saying that his (Becker's) days were numbered, while Chang was still a young guy.
Becker lost to Sampras in the final of the 1996 ATP Tour World Championships in Hannover 3–6, 7–6, 7–6, 6–7, 6–4. Becker saved two match points in the fourth set and held serve 27 consecutive times until he was broken in the penultimate game. Sampras, who had lost to Becker a month earlier in a five-set final in Stuttgart, later called Becker the best indoor player he ever faced.
In 1997, Becker lost to Sampras in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, in what many thought would be Becker's last appearance there. In 1999, however, he played at Wimbledon again, losing in the fourth round to Patrick Rafter.
Becker was most comfortable playing on fast-playing surfaces, particularly indoor carpet (on which he won 26 titles) and grass courts. He reached a few finals playing on clay courts but never won a clay court tournament in his professional career. His best performances at the French Open were when he reached the semi-finals in 1987, 1989, and 1991.
Over the course of his career, Becker won 49 singles titles and 15 doubles titles. Besides his six Grand Slam titles, he was also a singles winner in the year-end Tennis Masters Cup in 1988, 1992, and 1995, and at the Grand Slam Cup in 1996. He won a record-equalling four singles titles at London's Queen's Club. In Davis Cup, his career win-loss record was 54-12, including 38-3 in singles. He also won the other two major international team titles playing for Germany – the Hopman Cup (in 1995) and the World Team Cup (in 1989 and '98).
Becker won singles titles in 14 different countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Qatar, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States. In 2003, Becker was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Becker occasionally plays on the senior tour and in World Team Tennis. He also commentates at Wimbledon for the BBC each year.
Boris Franz Becker (Leimen, Németország, 1967. november 22. – ) korábbi világelső német teniszező. Hatszoros Grand Slam-győztes, párosban olimpiai bajnok (1992, Barcelona). 17 évesen ő volt a legfiatalabb játékos, aki valaha Wimbledonban nyerni tudott. Visszavonulása után a médiában való részvételével és színes magánéletével hívja fel magára a figyelmet.