Laszlo FABIAN

László Fábián’s father was a baker who started training him as a young man. Fábián was 15 when he started kayaking with Budapest Dózsa and, at the age of 17, he was nominated to the national team. He won the Hungarian championship in K4 10,000 metres in 1954 and K4 1,000 metres in 1955. After these wins his coach suggested he join János Urányi in the K2. The pair proved to be successful and, at the 1956 Hungarian Championships, they won the K2 over 500, 1,000 and 10,000 metres. At the 1956 Melbourne Olympics they won the K2 10,000 m, which was the first Hungarian Olympic title in kayaking.

After winning the 1956 Olympic Games, Fábian won four Worlds and six European titles between 1958-66. At the Flatwater World Championships, he won the 1958 K2 10K (with Urányi), the 1963 K2 10K (with István Timár-Geng), the 1963 K4 1,000 m, and the 1966 K2 10K, alongside Imre Szöllősi. Fábián finished active racing in 1969, and then became a technical manager and trainer at Újpesti Dózsa and worked in the management of the Hungarian Kayak Canoe Association. In 1997 he became the head coach of MTK.