Legendary discus thrower Imrich Bugár dies aged 70

Czech and Slovak athletics great Imrich Bugár has died at the age of 70, the Dukla Army Sports Centre confirmed. The 1983 world champion from Helsinki was born in southern Slovakia in a Hungarian-speaking region, later learning Slovak and eventually Czech as his career took him across former Czechoslovakia. He remains one of the most successful discus throwers in its history, still holding the Czech national record of 71.26 metres. Bugár won Olympic silver at the 1980 Moscow Games but was denied a shot at gold in Los Angeles in 1984 due to the communist bloc boycott. At the time, he openly expressed frustration, saying he had been in peak form and deprived of a likely Olympic title. Instead of Los Angeles, he competed at the alternative Friendship Games in Moscow, finishing fourth after a scheduling mix-up. Bugár was a six-time Czechoslovak Athlete of the Year and later worked for decades at Dukla, also serving in the Czech Olympians’ Club.