István Donogán

Donogán competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, but only placed 17th with a throw of 41.78 m and failed to qualify for the final.^[1] Hungarian discus throwing experienced an upsurge in the early 1930s, with Donogán, József Remecz, Endre Madarász and Kálmán Marvalits all entering the international elite.^[2] Donogán won the Hungarian championship in 1931; his best throw that year was 47.99 m, which broke the official Hungarian record,^[3] but both Remecz and Madarász threw beyond 48 m the same year.^[4] Donogán, Remecz and Madarász were among the favorites at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, together with the Americans and the French;^[2] Donogán threw 47.08 m in the Olympic final and placed fifth.^[1] He was the top Hungarian, just ahead of Madarász, as European record holder Remecz underperformed.^[2]

Donogán placed third – again ahead of Remecz – at the 1934 European Athletics Championships in Turin, throwing 45.91 m.^[5] Donogán, who turned 37 that year, remains the oldest Hungarian medallist at the European championships.^[5] He won his second national discus title in 1935,^[3][6] the same year that he finished third behind Harald Andersson at the British 1935 AAA Championships.^[7][8][9]