The Hungarian artistic cyclists performed very well at the World Championships in Glasgow. One women’s 2-man was unable to compete in Scotland due to injury. With positions 4 and 5 in the men’s 1-man, rank 10 in the women’s 2-man and positions 14 and 18 in the women’s 1-man, the national team of the Magyars more than fulfilled their own expectations.
For Martin Schön, Glasgow 2023 was the last World Championships as an active 1-man artistic cyclist. He really wanted to make it to the final again. He had injured his wrist at the World Cup in Frankfurt. He was suffering from it until shortly before his departure for Scotland. In view of this handicap, he had to reduce his World Cup preparation and consequently his difficulty score for the World Cup. Against this background, his 5th place in Glasgow was a great success, albeit a painful departure from the World Championships stage.
Martin started artistic cycling in January 2000. Already in the same year he started at the Hungary Open in Baj. After the first exercises in the pupils’ class, Martin Schön had to do without a coach, so to speak. Interrupted by a few stays during the summer holidays in Worms, he worked his way up to artistic cycling as an autodidact. This puts the following look at his career and successes in a special light:
- Five participations in Junior European Championships in 2005-2009; best placing: 9th.
- Sixteen World Championships participations in 2006-2010, 2012-2019, 2021-2023; best placings: 5th (2013, 2018, 2023) and 4th (2019, 2022).
- Results at World Cups: 2nd place overall in 2018, 3rd place at World Cup Round 3 in 2019.
- 17-time Hungarian champion.
- Best foreign club team with the Bokod team at the Worms Cup in 2016.
- Personal best 175.6 points, World Cup 2022 (unofficial Hungarian record).
Martin Schön’s favourite exercises are handstands and the Maute vault. His biggest challenge was to get back up after every failure and keep going. This is exactly what Martin schön managed to do a few times in his long career. He was an exceptional sportsman and world-class artistic cyclist who earned a lot of respect on the international stage.
Asked about the best experiences, Martin’s answer is: “If I had to say only one thing, I would name the Bokoder World Cup 2019. I had a lot to do with the organisation, managed to get 3rd place and the hall was full with over 300 people.”
This feedback characterises Martin Schön to perfection. He has already done an enormous amount for Hungarian artistic cycling during his active career. The best Hungarian young riders come from his club in Bokod. He is the home coach who builds up the young people with a lot of meticulousness. He accompanies the Hungarian junior national team to the important competitions. He dares to organise international competitions.And he is the interface to the Hungarian federation.So it is not surprising that Martin Schön was recently appointed Hungarian Indoor Cycling Coordinator.
Martin Schön will say goodbye to active artistic cycling at the Bokoder Cup on 11 November. Until then, he will pull the strings for Hungarian indoor cycling in many different ways. Chapeau and thank you Martin Schön.
Stefan Born