On a long stretch of road near Lake Balaton, far from any winter landscape, cross-country skier Ádám Konyá pushes through another training session. 

Roller skis tap against the pavement. Poles strike the ground in steady rhythm. Cars pass in the distance. It's a setting that looks nothing like an Olympic venue, yet it is where Hungary's most successful cross-country skier prepares for the biggest race of his life.

Hungary has short winters and no mountain ranges suited for elite skiing, but Konyá has found a way to break through these limits. The 30-year-old athlete will represent his country at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina, where he will compete as one of only two male Hungarian cross-country skiers to qualify for the event.

His path to this point has been marked by milestones few in Hungary thought possible. Konyá became the first Hungarian to finish the Tour de Ski, one of the sport's hardest events, which ends on the steep climb up Alpe Cermis in Italy's Trentino region. The achievement set him apart in a country with little history in long-distance skiing.

As he trains near Lake Balaton, Konyá keeps his focus on steady preparation. 

"Today will be a quiet, solid interval session, probably one of the last of the preparation," he says while warming up on the roadside. His work includes hours on roller skis followed by sessions in the gym, where he builds strength and balance for the climbs and sprint finishes that define Olympic competition.

Konyá first discovered skiing as a teenager. He had planned to study in Austria, but a school year there led him into a sports academy that offered cross-country skiing. 

"It started when I was 14, 15 that I wanted to go just for one year to Austria, to go to school," he says. "But then I ended up in a sports school with cross-country skiing and other snowy sports. And I started to fall in love with the sports and skiing."

Now preparing for his third Olympic Games after PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022, Konyá believes experience will help him stay composed in Cortina. 

"If it's not only experience or the aging that makes me more calm, I think less nervous, but still feeling especially the specialness of that race," he says. 

"I would say I'm more calm. Maybe it's true that I can look forward to it more. And I also hope that the results will be better."

Cortina also brings a personal milestone: his family will be in the stands. 

"The family this time finally can visit," he said. He is a new father. "So yeah, it's a big thing. So they will come."

Konyá now carries Hungary into a sport where few expect the country to excel. He trains on roads, not snow, yet he steps into the Olympic season with determination, experience, and a nation ready to watch him race.