1. Please introduce yourself and the start of your sport career.

My name is Máté Liszt. I am studying at IBS from 2009. I started doing athletics when I was 14. I took part in several competitions when I was going to primary school and I won some of them, so I decided to join the Honvéd and started to train there. I always loved running and I felt I should take it more seriously. So as a sports club member I started to train regularly and had many competitions after all.
Two years later I moved to KSI (Központi Sport Iskola) that was a really good choice in my opinion. I got another coach and I improved a lot already in the first year. I tried other events as well that I haven’t done before, such as 110m hurdles or 400m. So since that time I do athletics if I have time besides my studies and I can admit I have been quite successful.

2. Were you always doing athletics or did you also try other sports as well?

There was no other option for me. I always wanted to do athletics. My dad used to do athletics too, so I guess I just inherited his talent and interest. Although I like other sports too but athletics and particularly sprints were the ones which I always liked the most.

3. How many competitions did you have by now?

I cannot say an exact number but I have won about 50 medals. I would say I have 10-12 competitions a year, so it should be around 80 competitions so far.

4. What is your best result and where did you achieve it?

I have to mention more success.
In 2007, I finished second the 200m in the National Student Olympics.
In 2008, I won the decathlon championships in a team and finished 4th individually.
In 2009, I finished 2nd Junior National Athletics Championship in 400m hurdles. This is what I am the most proud of because 400m hurdles is a really hard event. Furthermore I was representing the Hungarian National Team two times.

5. Did you have international competitions too?

With the National Team I went twice to Czech Republic and I competed in Slovakia a couple of times as well.

6. Why do you like sports and what is it feel like when you win?

I couldn’t imagine my life without sports. Many people ask me how I can run so much and so fast. I would say everyone is good at something, so running is part of my life and I enjoy every minute of it. There is also a great community within the club, so training together motivates me to train even harder.
When I win I feel I didn’t train in vain. But you don’t have to win to be content. If I achieve my goals whichever competition I participate, I’m already satisfied.

7. What motivates you to do so much training?

As I mentioned my friends give me big motivation, but often I have to train alone and I just feel I want to prove myself that I am able to do it. For me executing hard trainings gives me self-confidence and the consciousness that I can train really hard. The sense of achievement can be just as high in trainings as if I would win a competition. If I do my training plan for weeks and I see that I can run the same distances faster and faster every week, that gives me motivation to keep doing it. And when the competitions come I know that I did my best at trainings so I don’t have to be ashamed no matter what I achieve.

8. Do you have any lucky charms, you always take with you if you go to a championship?

I don’t particularly have any lucky charms, but I have the same method to warm up before competitions and I also care what I eat before.

9. Do you have any future plans concerning sport, studies and profession career?

I wish I had more time to train but my studies are the most important of course. I know I could have achieved more if I had more time, but the most important is for me to keep the joy what running gives me. Even if I can’t participate in competitions, I enjoy running and I don’t want to give up this habit.