Krisztián Berki

Krisztián Berki ( born March 18, 1985 in Budapest) is a Hungarian gymnast. His biggest successes are the Olympic gold medal in 2012 on pommel horse and winning two world and six European championship titles in the same discipline. At a height of 1.78 meters his competition weight is 67 kilograms.

Life

Krisztián Berki was born in our Youth Hostel, a district of Budapest, and grew up in the Hungarian capital. For the first time with the gymnastics in contact, he came at the age of five years in the local nursery. Claims to Berki was fascinated by the body exercises and movements, and went to the gymnastics further. At the age of twelve years he took part in the first competition.

1997 Berki was appointed as a gymnast in the Hungarian national team of seniors. From the early 2000s, initial success in international youth tournaments to put a. By 2002 suffered ankle injury Berki was forced to turn away from the all-around and then on to focus on the pommel horse. In the same year he was on this unit for the first time Hungarian champion. In 2004 he won the bronze medal to his special device at the European Championships in Ljubljana, the first medal at the International Seniors Championships.

The first international title on pommel horse followed in 2005 at the European Championships held in Debrecen, where Berki has secured the European title before the Romanians Marius Urzică and Nikolai Kryukov of Russia. At the European Championships in Volos in the Greek it his practice was evaluated retrospectively lower, whereupon he lost a medal and the title went to the Romanian Flavius ​​Koczi on pommel horse. In the same year Berki won in his best discipline the DTB Cup in Stuttgart ( 15,750 points) and took second place at the World Cup in Maribor behind the Croats Robert Seligman. At the World Cup finals in São Paulo Berki gymnastics had hitherto been his best rated pommel horse exercise and had to deal with 16,025 points narrowly beaten the Chinese Xiao Qin ( 16,100 ).

2007 was the most successful year so far for Berki. At the European Championships in Amsterdam, he again won the gold medal on pommel horse with 15.800 points, ahead of the Briton Daniel Keatings ( 15.450 ) and Flavius ​​Koczi ( 15.325 ). At the World Championships in Stuttgart, he won his first world championship silver medal on his special device, behind the world champion Xiao Qin. Furthermore followed by four victories in international World Cup, which won Berki with at least 16,000 points or more - including the 25th DTB Cup in Stuttgart ( 16,000 ), the World Cup in Ghent ( 16,075 ) and Maribor ( 16,150 ), and the Tournament of Champions in Cottbus ( 16.000 points). The following Olympic year began for Berki with a fourth place at the World Cup in Doha, whereupon the Tournament of Champions followed in Cottbus. He did gymnastics until then its the highest rated pommel horse Freestyle ( 16.225 points). At the European Championships in Lausanne Berki won the title for the third time on his parade unit. This was followed by a third place at the World Cup in Moscow and with 15.675 points, second place at the World Cup in Barcelona behind the Chinese Zhang Hongtao ( 16,250 ). Berki, however, failed to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. Likewise, it remained a wildcard of the International Gymnastics Federation FIG denied. The Olympic gold medal went to Hungary in the absence of Xiao Qin ( 15,875 points), before the Croat Filip Ude ( 15,725 ) won the Berki at the European Championships on the silver rank had still can reference. The year 2008 closed Berki from a victory at the Grand Prix in Glasgow ( 15,950 points) and with a second place ( 16,100 ) at the World Cup Final in Madrid behind Zhang Hongtao ( 16,375 ).

After the silver medal at the 2009 World Championships in London behind Zhang Hongtao Berki remained unbeaten in the following years at major international championships on his parade unit. 2009, 2011 and 2012, he won the European Championship, in 2010 and 2011, he was world champion in each case. There were six World Cup victories in 2012 until the summer. For the 2012 Summer Olympics qualified in London, Berki took fifth with 15.033 points into the unit finals on pommel horse. There he erturnte a score of 16.033 points and on a par with the best qualifications Louis Smith of Great Britain. Due to its better attitude scores him the gold medal ahead of Smith was awarded. It was the fifth Olympic gold medal for Hungary in this unit after the successes of István Pelle (1932 ), Zoltán Magyar ( 1976 and 1980 ) and Zsolt Borkai (1988 ), which was one Berki to his models. In the following European Championships 2013 in Moscow Berki moved as a qualification to the finals Best one on pommel horse, where he had to give up but the Briton Daniel Keatings struck and won silver.

Krisztián Berki is a student and lives in Budapest. He is a member of the gymnastics team of the club Újpesti TE and is coached since 2007 by István Kovács, whom he has known since childhood, and to whom he had reported a closer relationship than to a parent. The eight-time national champion in Hungary bears the nickname " hosszú " (Eng.: The Lange).

Awards (selection)

• Hungary's Sportsman of the Year (2010, 2011)
• Hungary Turner of the Year (2005-2011)