Ferenc Szőnyi (born 25 August 1964, in Komárom) is a Hungarian ultra-triathlete and ultra-runner.
At the age of 42, he took up the triathlon and soon realized that he could excel as runner and triathlete in longer distances. He finished at 4th place in his first double Ironman race, in Bonyhád, Hungary, in 2008, after which he participated in several extreme distance events, like the Vienna–Bratislava–Budapest Supermarathon in his home country and in the Deca-Ironman, which consists of 38 kilometers of swimming, 1800 kilometers of cycling and 422 kilometers of running, and even the Double Deca-Ironman, both held in Monterrey, Mexico. In 2018, he won the Decaman ultratriathlon in New Orleans and by the president of Hungary he was bestowed Knight of the Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic (Civilian).Hungarian Ultra-Triathlete “Racemachine” Ferenc Szőnyi Prepares for 200km Mountain Race in Argentina ‘Racemachine’ Ferenc Szőnyi Wins Decaman in New OrleansMegnyerte a New Orleans-i tízszeres Ironman-futamot - Szőnyi Ferenc - ECHO TV
Main achievements
Year Race type Race name/venue place/distance/time Information, extra. Source: racemachine.blog.hu 2007 Ultramarathon Bécs-Budapest Ultramarathon 223 km , 23 hrs 2008 Double Ironman (2 IM) Bonyhád 4th Place 27 hours, First IronMan 2008 Deca Ironman (10 IM) Mexico 3rd place 222hrs 17mins 2008 Marathon Budapest Marathon 3 hrs 2008 Országos Bajnokság Kisbér OB 100 km within 9 hrs 2008 24 hrs run Sárvár 2nd place 219 km 2008 UltraBalaton bike ride Ultrabalaton 206 km 5hrs 38min 2009 Szupermarathon Bécs-Budapest Szupermarathon within 33 hrs 2009 Double Ironman (2 IM) Bonyhád 6th place Two Hungarians in the finish 2009 Triple Ironman (3 IM) Lensahn 4th place New Hungarian Record 2009 Double Ironman (2 IM) Slovenia 8th place New Hungarian Record 2009 Deca Ironman (10 IM) Mexico 1st place Deca Ironman Winner+ World Champion + New World Record + New Deca IronMan World Record 2009 Spartathlon Spartathlon 76th place Spartathlon 2009 Országos Bajnokság / National Championship Nagyatádi OB 10hrs 20min 2010 24 hour running race Sárvár 1st place 24 hour running 2010 Race Across America Race Across America 9th place Race Across America 2010 Double Ironman (2 IM) Bonyhád 6th place Double Ironman 5 days after RAAM 2010 Double Deca Ironman (20 IM) Mexico 1st place Magyar győztes!/ + Double Deca Ironman201124hrs bike race Le Mans 4th place (757.48 km) Le Mans2011SpartathlonGreece 26th place (31:38:58)Spartathlon2011 Double Ironman (2 IM) ENDUROMAN ultratriatlon world cup / Lanzarotte 12th place (31:49:07) 12th place on Double Ironman2013Tripla Deca (30 IM)Triple Deca Ironman/Italy - Lombardia2nd place (358:35:58)Ferenc Szőnyi from Komárom was racing on the world's very first 30xIronMan race along with József Rokob from Győr (who finished on 1st place with 356:33:17). The participants completed one full distance IronMan triathlon every single day for 30 days, that is 3.8 km swim, 180 km ride and 42.2 km run per day.2017Hell Ultra Running Himalayas 1st place (113:13:29) 480 km2017Deca Ironman (10 IM) Switzerland 1st place (215:17:45) Deca Ironman Winner2018DECAMAN USAUSA New Orleans1st place (222:10:51)Decaman + Decaman Winner20194. Ultra Triathlon Rogner Bad BlumauAustria5th place (86:31:43)Quintuple
In Mexico in 2009 Szőnyi set the new world record for the 10xIronman race with 115hrs time. During this race the participants completed one full distance Ironman triathlon every day for 10 consecutive days. All together these ironmen completed 38 km swim, 1800 km bike ride and 422 km run.
Szőnyi also achieved two cycling records: Within 24 hours he completed 721 km. Also, he completed 1000 km in 34 hrs. 2000-ben broke the old record
Szőnyi completed twice one of the longest and hardest land race called Spartathlon (245.3 km) and one of the longest bicycle race called Race Across America (4800 km).
In his civil life he works in the construction business. He is a father of 4.
References