András Szente

András Szente (December 10, 1939 – September 14, 2012) was a Hungarian sprint canoeist who competed from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. Competing in two Summer Olympics, he won two silver medals at Rome in 1960, earning them in the K-1 4 × 500 m and the K-2 1000 m events.

Szente also won two silver medals at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships (K-1 4 × 500 m: 1966, K-4 1000 m: 1958).

The Life of András Szente

Szente András V was born on December 10, 1939, in Budapest, Hungary to Szente Erzsebet (Schmidt) and Szente András IV. András was one of four children with an older sister named Katalin and younger twin brothers named István and József. His father owned his own hair salon and was a well-known hairstylist in Budapest with a client list that included some of the most famous opera and movie stars of the time. Growing up in communist Hungary, András saw firsthand how communism limited freedom in Hungary, and his experiences growing up would shape his life forever in ways that he could not have imagined as a young boy.

In his early teens András took up the sport of kayaking, which is a national pastime for the Hungarian people. He quickly rose through the competitive ranks becoming first a national champion, then a European champion, world champion, and finally a two-time Olympian winning two silver medals in the 1960 Rome Olympics and placing fourth in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. András saw his sports career as a ticket to travel the world, traveling all throughout Europe with his teammates and visiting distant countries that the average Hungarian only dreamed of because travel was strictly limited during communist rule. In 1956, when András was only in his late teens and in high school, he participated in the uprising when the Hungarian people revolted against their communist dictators. Many years later, after he had defected to California, András would commemorate the anniversary of the ’56 uprising and would reflect back that many of his classmates that went out to protest that day never came home because they lost their lives. In 1969 András defected communist Hungary, traveling to Germany where he worked with American aid workers until he was given permission to come to the United States. He was so grateful to the American people for giving him his freedom and an opportunity to start a new life in America.

Upon arriving in America, András quickly integrated into the large Hungarian-American community in Los Angeles, California, joining a youth dance group where he would meet his future wife, Ágnes Zerinvári. András pursued Ágnes for two years until they fell in love and were married on August 26, 1972. The two were adventurous from the outset, traveling across the United States with their Dalmatian and camper in tow, and later traveled extensively throughout the world. On February 23, 1981, Ágnes and András gave birth to twin boys, Andrew Szente VI and László Szente, and would raise their young family in California before setting off on adventurous travels that would take them to Virginia, Saudi Arabia, West Virginia and ultimately back to Virginia.

András died on September 14, 2012, at the age of 72 while vacationing with Ágnes in Florida. They had just celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary weeks earlier with their family. András had just retired from work the prior year and was so much looking forward to traveling the world, catching up on reading, and spending more time with his wife, boys and his granddaughter Charlotte. András had always loved the energy and youth of children throughout his life, but he especially loved his grandchild Charlotte, and she too loved him very much.

As the saying goes, it’s not how many days you lived that is important, but it’s what you did with those days that matter the most. András lived a storied life and lived every day to the fullest. He was a family man whose only concern was for the wellbeing and happiness of his family and friends. András is survived by his wife Ágnes; his sons Andrew and László; his granddaughter Charlotte; and his sister and brothers, Katalin, István and József.

András’s final wish was that his ashes be scattered into the waters around the world, the same waters that would bring his life to fulfillment. And so every time you gaze out into the great oceans, rivers and lakes, think back on the warmth, love and friendship that he brought to those around him and celebrate the life of Szente András.