The volunteers of the Hungarian University of Sports Science (HUSS) Volunteer and Sustainability Office also did their best at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
Happiness. Pride. A once-in-a-lifetime experience.
HUSS’s Volunteer and Sustainability Office considers it its mission to make the contribution of volunteers visible both at home and across the wider world. Five Hungarian volunteers, Szabolcs Nagy, Zsófia Éva, Tímea Krutek, Orsolya Eszter Mikos and Kata Lazányi, were all part of the whirlwind of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games held recently, each contributing to the successful organization of the event. Now they known what it means to be part of an event that the world follows through screens — yet experiencing it from the inside is something entirely different.
“Even being able to take part in my very first adult Olympic event is a huge milestone,” says Nagy Szabolcs (43), whose journey to the Games was preceded by nearly a year of preparation. Today he is certain: “Every bit of time and energy invested was worth it.” For him, it was a special honour not only to help but also to represent the Olympic spirit and Hungary.
A commitment to volunteering has long been a defining part of Éva Zsófia’s (49) life, and she says these occasions always bring her into contact with remarkable people. The Winter Olympics fulfilled a long-held dream for her, made even more personal by her love of Italy and her language skills. Thanks to her previous experience, international coordinators quickly recognized the Hungarian team’s competence and entrusted them with greater responsibility. Zsófia is already setting her sights on the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
According to Krutek Tímea (49), the Olympics are “a gateway to another world.” Many people think they know what the Olympics are like, she says, but experiencing them from behind the scenes is something entirely different. “It doesn’t matter where you come from or what language you speak — the shared goal connects us,” Tímea emphasized. The tasks may sometimes seem small — giving directions, offering assistance, resolving unexpected situations — yet it is precisely these small moments that create the bigger picture. And when an entire stadium breathes as one during a competition, the volunteer feels it too: they are exactly where they belong.
“It is especially moving to be present as a Hungarian in the Olympic environment,” says Mikos Orsolya Eszter (51). “When someone smiles and says, ‘Hungary? Good athletes!’, it’s hard not to be touched,” she adds. When a Hungarian athlete appears, the heart beats differently — as if a piece of home has arrived amid the Olympic bustle. In those moments, volunteering is not just about helping, but also about quietly representing one’s country.
For Lazányi Kata (42), participating in the Olympics as a volunteer “means far more than an accreditation.” It is those two weeks when the world focuses on athletes, when performance and human perseverance take centre stage. Yet the experience was not only about the competitions: managing long buffet lines, guiding fans, or helping someone catch up on a missed programme via a phone screen were all part of daily life. And when the chant “Go, Hungary!” echoed through the arena, strangers instantly became a community.
“Our volunteers’ stories clearly show that participating in the Olympics is not merely a task, but an exceptional opportunity — an opportunity to grow, to gain experience in an international environment, to build connections, and to be part of something that goes beyond everyday life,” said Dr Szilvia Perényi, head of the Volunteer and Sustainability Office.
Those who experience it once know: it truly is a lifelong memory. Heartfelt congratulations to our Olympic volunteers!
