
Humans of Beach Handball: Patrik Vizes
Many handball careers have broken down because of injuries or disappointing results. The Hungarian Patrik Vizes went through both, but rather than fall away, his tenacity got him crowned in 2023 at both the EHF Beach Handball EURO 2023 and ebt Finals 2023.
His story starts like many others. Most beach handballers’ adventures begin with falling in love with indoor handball at a young age. Patrik Vizes was not different, however, the specialist’s background predestined him to be on the court.
“Both my parents and my sister used to play handball, thus I spent most of my childhood in the handball arena of my hometown, Eger. Yet, for me it was not that obvious that I would be a handball player as football also had a special place in my heart. I started both at the age of seven and played at the highest level possible, but eight years later I had so many invitations from the Hungarian handball powerhouses such as Veszprém and Szeged that I chose handball and, with that, I moved to “the city of Queens”.
In Veszprém, he played together with another Patrik, Veszprém’s Hungarian national team player, the left back Patrik Ligetvári, among other talented youngsters and during that period Vizes became familiar with beach handball.
“The core of our squad went through every age group both in the club and the national team. The spine of the current beach handball national line is from that squad. Norbert Gyene, Bence Zakics, András John who are also my teammates at Hír-Sat BHC were all there with me. We were introduced to beach handball by another mate and fell in love with its vibe.”
Everything started around the ‘Hungarian Sea’ Lake Balaton.
“Our first tournament was the Balaton Cup in Keszthely. We lost to everybody but the sport and its people convinced us to step on that road. We were invited as one extra underage team and joined our current club, although back then its name was Hír-Sat Keszthely. Just like many years later, Balaton is still one of my favourite places to be and still the home of domestic beach handball."
This content is blocked
You said no to using cookies or similar tools that help improve your experience. To see this content, you would need to update your Privacy Preferences.





“I had dreams like playing in the EHF Champions League and wearing the national jersey however, my body prevented me from having a successful career at the highest level. Besides my left knee which still causes me the biggest trouble, every part of my body experienced at least one of the side effects of playing handball.”
“I spent so much time with recovery that I felt I was a doctor, a specialist already. In the last couple of years, my teammates came to me for opinions and advice regarding their issues! That amount of injuries also meant that I had to work on my mental health, which I did, and I think that the triumphs that came in the previous season are partly because I prepared, because I knew what I should do to strengthen both my body and my mind.”
Apart from the injuries, one could feel in the last years that the organisations Vizes played for would never reach the finals, despite the rosters being among the strongest on paper.
“I cannot even count how many times we came up short in the semi-finals. Something always popped up in the team. Injuries, short squad, bad luck and many more circumstances that did not help us. Looking back, it made us ready because after 2023 we feel like, whatever comes next, we are prepared.”
This content is blocked
You said no to using cookies or similar tools that help improve your experience. To see this content, you would need to update your Privacy Preferences.
Vizes is usually asked by a member of the beach handball family why he does not show emotions during the matches. Just like his compatriot Renáta Csiki, the European champion only focuses on one thing, to win.
“Some would not believe this, but I am a prankster, a joker in my teams. I always enjoy the time with my friends and this is also what makes us a great squad because we are friends. We share both happiness and sadness. I speak out a lot and try to comfort them.”
The ebt Finals 2023 winner’s personality, and his best-ever preparation period, could mean the difference for his unit in the previous season.
“Due to my injury, I always have to do extra work because if I feel well on the sand, I would create better situations for my teammates. It also makes me more unpredictable and quicker not to mention that my mood will be just better. And exactly this happened to me at the beginning of the summer of 2023. My form gave me confidence and calmness which I could pass on to the lines. They even told me that the way I did even the most basic things was different this time.”
Both Vizes and his European champion beach handballer girlfriend, Emese Tóth, are pioneers of the sport in Hungary.
“We understand that in beach handball we pave the path for the next generations. As long as I enjoy beach handball – and that feeling only grew in the last decade, and my body lets me, I will play it. However, I plan to re-do the same training as last year with an additional goal: I want to return to indoor handball after I retired in 2019 because of my left knee. I felt some emptiness since then and even though I work as a product manager nowadays I still belong to the court. I also finished my studies as a sports manager and this organising part is always with me as I am the ‘information hub’ for my teammates and I love to prepare in that way too, but as I learnt my way back to the level I want to be as an athlete, I am ready for the next step.
This content is blocked
You said no to using cookies or similar tools that help improve your experience. To see this content, you would need to update your Privacy Preferences.




