Uc_Hilal

Sport:
ice hockey

Country Represented:
Hungary

Years Competed:
1936

Olympic Info:
Rona was a defenseman on the Hungarian National team at the 1936 Olympics. In the preliminaries, Hungary played in Group C with Czechoslovakia, France, and Belgium. After a 3-0 loss to the Czechs in the opening game, Rona and his teammates defeated France 3-0 and then destroyed Belgium by a score of 11-2; Rona scored his only goal of the tournament in the game.

With six points, Hungary advanced to the quarterfinals, where they were in a group with Great Britain, Canada, and Germany, led by the half-Jewish star Rudi Ball. Hungary was overwhelmed by their opponents in this round, losing all three games; 5-1 to the British, 15-0 to Canada, and 2-1 to Germany. Hungary officially finished eighth overall in the tournament. Rona, who played in every game, had his only start against Canada.

Career Highlights:
According to the web site, azhockey.com, Rona scored 12 times for Hungary during his international career, including the 1936 Olympics. Those Games were held in Germany and all teams were forced to start their games with a Hitler salute. During his hockey career, Rona played for BKE Budapest in the mid-1930s before leaving the country for Switzerland in 1939, where he played for EHC Arosa. He then played in Finland (helping Kronohagens IF capture the league championship), Sweden and finally in France in 1949-50. He also became the Swedish International Tennis Champion in 1942. After retiring, Rona settled in Spain near Malaga.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. 1913

Origin:
unknown

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