Andras SALLAY

Along with partner Krisztina Regőczy, András Sallay first competed at the European Ice Dance Championships in 1970. The pair won the Hungarian national championship in 1971 and made consistent progress over the next few years. They were 5th in the inaugural Olympic ice dance competition in 1976 and won their first international medal, European Championship silver, the following season. From then on they were regular contenders at major championships and placed 3rd at both the 1978 and 1979 European Championship and the 1978 World Championships. The upward trend continued when won silver at the 1979 World Championships and began a rivalry with Soviet dancers Nataliya Linichuk and Gennady Karponosov. In 1980 Sallay and Regőczy were beaten into 2nd place by the Soviet pair at the European Championships and by a narrow margin at the Lake Placid Olympic Games but emerged victorious at the World Championships in Dortmund. The world title was their competitive swansong and the pair turned professional. For the rest of the decade they toured extensively with the Ice Follies and Holiday on Ice revues. After retiring from the ice he took up a position with Mark McCormack’s International Management group eventually rising to vice-president and managing director of the Hungarian arm of the business.