Bence Bicsák
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 Bicsák (center) in 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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| Nickname | Bicsu | ||||||||||||||
| National team | Hungary | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 19 October 1995 (age 31) | ||||||||||||||
| Education | Pécsi Tudományegyetem, Zalaegerszegi Zrínyi Miklós Gimnázium, University of Pécs | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Triathlon | ||||||||||||||
Events | Olympic distance, sprint distance | ||||||||||||||
| League | World Triathlon Championship Series, World Triathlon Cup | ||||||||||||||
| Club | PSN zrt. (Hungary), JFTcrew Elite Squad, Triathlon Toulouse Metropole (France) | ||||||||||||||
| Team | Hungarian Olympic Team (2020 and 2024) | ||||||||||||||
Turned pro | 2017 | ||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Joel Filliol, Drew Box (Olympic cycle 2024), Szilárd Tóth (Olympic cycle 2020) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| Updated on 15 July 2024 | |||||||||||||||
Bence Bicsák (born 19 October 1995) is a Hungarian professional triathlete and double Olympian. He was a member of the Hungarian 2020 Olympic Triathlon team and competed in the men's individual event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Summer Games where placed 7th,[1] the highest placing Olympic triathlon finish by a Hungarian. He was also selected to compete in the men's individual event at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris[2], where he finished in 16th place out of 55 Olympians who started the race.[3] Additionally, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Bicsák competed in the inaugural Triathlon - Mixed-Relay event. The Hungarian team composed of two men and two women finished in 11th position.[4]
Bicsák competes within the top-tier World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) and also at numerous World Triathlon Cups.[5] As of 22 July 2024, World Triathlon reports that Bence Bicsák had 98 Starts, 21 Podium finishes, and 11 Wins.[6]
Before 2023, no Hungarian triathlete had ever been ranked higher than Bence Bicsák by World Triathlon.[7] Csongor Lehmann obtained a higher ranking by the end of 2023.
Since 2014, Bicsák's race results have brought him much national attention. As a triathlete, he has been a member of the PSN zrt (Pécsi Sport Nonprofit) triathlon team since 2015. The PSN zrt team is based in the city of Pécs where Bence Bicsák resided until 2022 and where he completed his university degree. He graduated with a Major in Business Administration and Management[8] from the university of Pécs, (Pécsi Tudományegyetem).
Prior to July 2022, Bicsák routinely trained with and competed against fellow Hungarian team member Faldum Gábor. Faldum was an Olympic triathlete at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. Prior to July 2022, as part of the Hungarian National team, Bicsák attended foreign training camps where he trained and competed with 2016 and 2020 Olympic triathlete Támas Tóth.
Childhood and early life
[edit]Bence Bicsák was an active child who loved to play outside and enjoyed hobbies and new sports. Running, swimming, cycling, soccer, basketball were some of the sports that gave him pleasure. When he was around 7 or 8 years old, he practiced swimming a few times per week. He did not enjoy it much, was not successful in competitions, but his parents persuaded him to continue. In the meantime, he continued with other sports.[9]
When he was around 11 or 12 years old, his parents, who ran as a hobby, took the young Bence Bicsák to a race. The race gave him enjoyment.[10]
A local coach, István Góczán, of the Triathlon Association in Zalaegerszeg contacted Bicsák and asked him to participate in an aquathlon competition. Aquathlon is a race combining swimming and running. Bence did well in the swim and ran his way up to finish first. To his surprise, Bence had earned a gold medal. He had never won a running race before. The race was the spark that set him on an exceptionally long and challenging path to eventually becoming a top-10 triathlete. When he was 15 years old, Bicsák decided to take up the sport of triathlon. At some point, István Góczán asked the young Bence Bicsák at what age he wanted to reach his top performance level, physically and mentally. Bence Bicsák's answer was "between 25 and 28".[9][10]
Personal life
[edit]Bicsák has a younger sister, Flora, who competed for many years in the sports of triathlon, duathlon, and athletics.[11][12] In their teens, Bence and Flora would often train together. Flora competed in the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games.
Bence Bicsák's parents are both medical doctors, and as a hobby they practiced the sport of half-marathon for numerous years.[13][14][9]
Career
[edit]2012-2011: Learning, training and progressing
[edit]In the years 2011 and 2012, Bence Bicsák competed in six European Triathlon Union events. In half the events, he placed in the top 10.[15]
On 1 September 2012, in Aguilas, Spain, he and his Hungarian teammates won a silver medal at the ETU Triathlon U23 and Youth European Championships Youth Relay.[16]
Bicsák was a member of the Triathlon Club of Zalaegerszeg and trained with the Mogyi SE Baja-Pécs team (now known as Mogyi SE Baja team) during the summer of 2012.[17]
2013: First Hungarian to qualify for the World Championships
[edit]In 2013, Bicsák competed in 6 triathlon events. He won one Gold. Overall, in 25% of the events, he placed within the top 10.[15]
On 15 June at the 2013 Triathlon European Championships in Alanya, Turkey, Bence Bicsák placed an unexpected 10th place in the Junior Men category.[18][19]
He became the first Hungarian to qualify for the World Championships.[19][20] The experience gained by Bicsák at the Grand Final event in London, was significant. Jacob Birtwhistle, Tyler Mislawchuk, and Kristian Blummenfelt who would each hold a top-10 Olympic Qualification ranking in 2020 and 2021 were also present at the Grand Final.
Despite his Junior age, on 21 July 2013, he competed for the first time in the Elite Men category during the 2013 Tartu ITU Sprint Triathlon European Cup. He placed 21st out of 47 competitors.[21] Bence Bicsák time was 00:57:28, Kristian Blummenfelt of Norway came in first with a time of 00:55:36.
In 2013, he placed first at the Hungarian Triathlon Junior National Championships,[22] he also won a gold medal in the Hungarian National Duathlon Championship.[19]
For 2013, Bence Bicsák had designed his training plan. His father, who had previously competed in the half-marathon sport, also provided some assistance. The young athlete's training regiment was; training once or twice per day, swimming six times per week, cycling three times per week or more during spring and summer, and running four or five times per week. The overall training was; 14 to 15 training sessions in the winter and between 16 and 18 in the summer.[19]
As a member of the Triathlon Club of Zalaegerszeg, Bence Bicsák received coaching assistance from; Csaba Horváth and Tamás Horváth for swimming, István Góczán for running, Tamás Binder and Miklós Déri for cycling.[19]
During the summer of 2013, he also trained with the team of Mogyi SE Baja-Pécs.[17]
2014: Numerous successes. Heads off to university
[edit]For 2014, the World Triathlon rankings database indicates that Bence Bicsák competed in 8 triathlon events. He won three Golds and one Bronze. Overall, in 75% of the events, he placed within the top 10.[15]
In 2014, as a Junior he finished 12th in the World Triathlon Grand Final in Edmonton, and also as a Junior he finished 5th at the Kitzbühel ETU Triathlon European Championships. As a Junior, he also won two European Cups, one in Tiszaujvaros, and another in Holten.[23][24][25]
In 2014, and for the second year in a row, Bence Bicsák won a gold medal in Hungary's National Sprint Distance Duathlon Championship.[17][26] During the same year, his younger sister, Flora Bicsák, also won a gold medal at the National Duathlon Championships of Hungary.[17] Beating 542 other competitors, Flora Bicsák also won a silver medal at the 2014 National Cross Country Championships.[17] Both siblings, Bence and Flora, often trained together for triathlons.[17] Their athletic success in 2014 yielded national media attention.[27][17]
In June 2014, Bence Bicsák graduated from the Zalaegerszegi Zrínyi Miklós Gimnázium (High school).[28][29] Dr. Lajos Bicsák, the athlete's dad, graduated from the same school in 1983.[30] His younger sister Flora would also graduate from the same school in 2016.
In January 2014. Bence Bicsák signed on as a triathlete of the Mogyi SE Baja-Pécs team.[17]
In 2014, Bence Bicsák got accepted into the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Pécs.[17] Many decades earlier, both of his parents had graduated from a university of Pécs. He moved from Zalaegerszeg to the city of Pécs. In 2014 began training as a triathlete for PSN zrt.[31]
2015: Bicsák’s development draws much attention
[edit]In 2015, PSN Zrt Sportiskola (PSN Ltd. Sports School in Pécs) established a new triathlon department led by Toth Szilard.[32] As department head and coach, Szilárd and many of his dedicated staff members provided Bence Bicsák and nearly forty other Hungarian triathletes with excellent training conditions and significant support.[32][33][34] PSN zrt. has 14 sports departments, and significant sports facilities.
2015 was the first year that Bence Bicsák competed as an adult and within the U23 (Under 23 years old) triathlon category. He also began racing the Olympic distance (1.5 km swim, 40 km bike, and 10 km run), a race format twice as long as most of his previous races.[34] For Bicsák, the significantly greater triathlon distances coupled with a much higher level of competition resulted in a much more challenging year.[33]
For 2015, the World Triathlon rankings database indicates that Bence Bicsák competed in 11 triathlon events and had three podium finishes, two Silvers and one Bronze. Overall, he placed within the top 10 in 73% of the events.[15]
Bicsák failed to qualify for the 2015 World Cup Final but reportedly learned a lot from the negative experience.[33] In Hungary, Bicsák's development continued to draw much attention. His training sessions were between 5 and 6 hours per day.[33]
2016: Breakthrough performance. Places 3rd in Cozumel Grand Final
[edit]For 2016, the World Triathlon rankings database indicates that Bence Bicsák competed in 12 triathlon events and had two Bronze finishes. Overall, he placed within the top 10 in 58% of the events.[15] In 2016, Bence Bicsák competed in