Former 1500m world record holder István Rózsavölgyi dies, aged 82

Legendary Hungarian middle distance runner Istvan Rozsavolgyi died of heart and lung ailments in Tata, Hungary, on Friday. He was 82.

Rozsavolgyi competed at the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Games and in Rome he won a 1500m bronze medal.

Among his 36 internationals for Hungary between 1953 and 1961, he also competed at the 1954 and 1958 European Athletics Championships, his best result coming in the latter when he was fourth in the 1500m.

He set seven world records during the course of his career: 1000m - 2:19.0 (1955); 1500m - 3:40.6 (1956); 2000m - 5:02.2 (1955); 4x1500m relay 15:29.2 (1953), 15:21.2 (1954), 15:14.8 (1955); 4xmile 16:25.2 (1959). Additionally, he also set a European record over 1500m of 3:42.2 in 1955.

European Athletics sends its condolences to his family, friends and everyone involved with athletics in Hungary.