Béla Mezo
Encyclopedia
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
track and field athlete
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics
1904 Summer Olympics
The 1904 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the III Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States from 1 July 1904, to November 23, 1904, at what is now known as Francis Field on the campus of Washington University...
.
He was born in Nagyfalud and died in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
.
In 1904 he was third in his first round heat of 100 m competition
Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics - Men's 100 metres
The men's 100 metres was a track and field athletics event held as part of the Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics programme. It was the third time the event was held. 11 athletes from 3 nations participated...
and did not advance to the final. In the 60 metres event
Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics - Men's 60 metres
The men's 60 metres was a track and field athletics event held as part of the Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics programme. It was the second and last time the event was held at the Olympics. 12 athletes from 3 nations participated...
he was also eliminated in the first round after finishing fourth in his heat.
He also participated in the long jump competition
Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics - Men's long jump
The men's long jump was a track and field athletics event held as part of the athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics programme. It was the third time the event was held. Ten athletes from three nations participated...
but his exact result is unknown. In all three events he was the only European competitor.
A member of the Hungarian Athletic Club (MAC) he set records in the 100 yard
event winning national championships and was awarded the Hungarian Perpetual Champion
trophy in 1903. He was selected to represent Hungary at the 1904 Olympics in St Louis.
Unfortunately due to the rough transtlantic crossing and related stomach ailments he did
not compete in full form, ran his olympic heats quite unwell and was not able to match his
championship performance levels.
Following his sports career he became a well-respected surgeon and adjunct professor of
the medical school, held several patents including a surgical powder used widely to treat post op
wounds. In his later years he developed special treatments based on the sympathetic nervous
system of the body.
Dr Mezo loved the outdoors as an avid hunter and wild life conservationist and later as a fisherman.
He was active in his profession until the end of his life.