SE: Baji Finds Harmony on Track to Earn Bronze Medal at World Championships, Make Hungarian History

Running the hurdles at a world championship level requires a certain harmony — a balance between explosion and grace. It takes years of hard work synching up with flawless execution on the track.

Balazs Baji, who ran for K-State in 2010, knows this better than anyone. The former Wildcat was well on his way to the finals at the 2016 Rio Olympics for the 110-meter hurdles before clipping a hurdle late in the semifinals, a slight error that slowed him down just enough. Baji finished with a time of 13.52, eleven-hundredths of a second short of the finals.

It was at this moment, however, when Baji realized something profound.

"I just found out and I experienced that it is not impossible to get in the final on the world stage," the two-time Olympian (2012, 2016) told K-State Sports Extra via a Skype interview. "All I have to do is be (relaxed), be controlled and not make any mistakes."

In nearly a year's time since then, all three of those things came together for Baji en route to rewriting history for his country.

Baji placed third in the 110 hurdles at the 2017 IAAF World Championships on August 7 in London, where he became the first Hungarian to ever win a World Championship medal in an individual track event.

"Obviously, it's a great honor and I'm really pleased that I could do that. I'm really happy to achieve all of this success. I really, really hope that because of my example, maybe we won't have to wait such a long time to experience this again," Baji said of inspiring his country. "Obviously, I believed in myself and I believed in my form. I wasn't going to London with a goal to win a medal but to make the final. I was, like, 'If I make the final, everything is possible,' because it's the hurdles, it's such an intense event and almost anything can happen. I was, like, 'If I run a perfect race and I really do my best, it is really possible to get a medal,' and it happened. I'm so happy and so pleased."

Baji ran a time of 13.28 in the finals of the World Championships, closing the race in strong fashion to earn his bronze medal. Soon after, he made his way to the medal stand for a moment that went by in a flash but that Baji said he would never forget.

"Wow, it was crazy. It passed really, really quickly, so unfortunately I wasn't standing on the podium for a long time, but it was a beautiful moment to stand in front of all of those people, more than 60,000 people, and everybody was watching us," he said. "That was a magical moment. Receiving this beautiful medal, that means so much to me and so much for my country."

Because of a flood of interview requests from Hungarian media, Baji has been carrying that medal around almost nonstop since he had it draped around his neck in London.

"Every day, I give at least six or seven interviews and around two or three on television, so it's pretty intense," Baji said. "It is crazy how excited everybody is, not just people who work around sports, but everybody else in my country."

With his recent performance, Baji has certainly made himself known in more than just Hungary. Besides earning his bronze medal, Baji broke his national record three times this season, highlighted by a time of 13.15 in July that would have placed him third in the Rio Olympics.

"I've made a lot of progress in the past year, but I haven't done anything differently than before. It's really more about all the experiences, all the hard work just coming together from the past six or eight years," the 28-year-old said. "It's really important, especially in the hurdles, the harmony between the mental, strength and technique. I think hurdles is all about harmony."

Baji began to tune his body for great achievements in 2003, at around age 14. He tried out many track and field events to start, mostly those involving sprinting and jumping before settling on the hurdles, which requires both.

"Pretty early I found hurdles was my event and hurdles was the event where I can achieve the best results due to my abilities and body structure," Baji said. "Ever since then, I trained like a hurdler."

The 6-foot-4 runner developed into a three-time junior national champion in the 110 hurdles, setting the junior national record in the event as well as in the 60-meter hurdles. He also finished seventh at the 2008 World Junior Championships in the 110 hurdles, before taking his passion in track to the United States to run at K-State.

In his one season as a Wildcat, Baji placed seventh in the 110 hurdles at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships. His best time in a K-State uniform, 13.79, still ranks in a tie for fourth on the Wildcats' all-time list.

"It was a great experience. Being a student in the (United) States is so much different than being a student in Hungary. It was a great experience for me being a Wildcat, being a student at K-State, and experiencing all of those events — the football games, the basketball games. Just to see how much students and American people respect sports and like sports, I wish it was like that everywhere else in the world, especially Hungary," he said. "And I learned a lot. I met so many people and then I learned so many things. I believe that it helped me a lot to improve and I can still benefit from the things I learned over there."

One aspect of being a professional track athlete Baji enjoys is being able to see K-State head coach Cliff Rovelto from time to time. Such was the case in London, where six other current or former Wildcats were competing.

"I met a lot of Wildcats over there. It's always a pleasure to meet old friends, especially Coach Rovelto. I always stop by and we have a small talk whenever we meet, and I always ask him about K-State, about the team, and he always likes to talk about it," Baji said. "I really liked seeing him in this World Championships and even when I see him in the Diamond League sometimes. It was good seeing him again."

Baji, who recently graduated from veterinary school in Budapest, said he hopes to continue his improvement as the rest of the Diamond League season unfolds. He also hopes to bring home another medal for his country at the 29th Summer Universiade, which runs from August 23-28 in Taipei, Taiwan.

"I'm really looking forward to getting one more medal for my university, for my home… hopefully the brightest one, maybe gold," Baji said. "But I just want to enjoy this season. I just want to enjoy racing as a bronze medalist and enjoy all of the moments I still have for this season. Obviously, I'm in great shape and hopefully I can run even faster this year."

Kansas State University Athletics

SE: Baji Finds Harmony on Track to Earn Bronze Medal at World Championships, Make Hungarian History

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