Béla Szepes

Béla Miklós Szepes (né Strauch; 5 September 1903 – 20 June 1986) was a Hungarian skier, athlete, graphic designer and journalist. He competed at the 1924 Winter Olympics and won the silver medal in the javelin throw in the 1928 Summer Olympics. He captured seven Hungarian Athletics Championships and three British Athletics Championships titles.

Later Szepes had a successful career as a graphic artist, becoming an influential sports cartoonist in Hungary.

Early life and sporting career

Szepes was born in Igló, Austria-Hungary (today Spišská Nová Ves, Slovakia) in 1903 and began skiing by the Magyar Turista Egylet in 1918. Five years later he became the first ever Hungarian champion in ski jumping on a hill that was built by the jumpers themselves. He broke the Hungarian record in ski jumping six times during his career, having set his personal best in 1927 with 57 metres.

At the 1924 Winter Olympics he participated in the 18 kilometre cross-country skiing event and in the Nordic combined but did not finish either of the races. 1927 AAA Championships and the 1929 AAA Championships.

In 1928 he was present at the Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, where he came second behind Erik Lundqvist with 65.26 metres.

Later life Szepes studied at the University of Arts and Design in Budapest. Following his graduation in 1926, Szepes moved to Berlin where he worked for several papers as a journalist and cartoonist. He returned to Hungary in 1933 and took a ski instructor job,

After World War II he continued his career as a freelance graphic artist; his drawings and caricatures were published in Népsport, Ludas Matyi and Füles, and made a number of book illustrations. From the 1960s he turned to sculpting and designed sports awards and trophies.