Slovenia Times

SPORT
Gymnastic legend Miroslav Cerar. Photo: Nebojša Tejić/STA
Sprinter Brigita Bukovec. Photo: Stanko Gruden/STA
First champions
Although a young nation, the history of
Slovenian Olympians stretches through a
significantly longer time period than just
the last few decades. Leon Štukelj, a
gymast during the times of the Kingdom of
Yugoslavia once shared his thoughts. Being
at one time the oldest Olympian in the
world, he remembered watching Jessie
Owens silence Nazi crowds in Berlin 1936
and was able to build a bridge from the
inception of Olympic movement to modern
times. "I realise that I’m now 100 and I
thought about it for a while. Then I realised I’m
doing just fine and I’m glad I could come here to
be with you. I’ve had many struggles in my life,
but also a lot of happiness. I look forward to
each new day," said the then still vigorous
Olympian, who remains the most
decorated in Slovenian history. He won
three gold medals, a silver and two bronzes
for the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
But he was not the first Slovenian to
climb the podium at the Olympic Games.
That honour went to Rudolf Cvetko in
Stockholm 1912, who won silver in fencing
for the Austro-Hungarian Empire and
started the rich history of Olympic
champions, from gymnastic legends like
Štukelj and Miroslav Cerar to skiing greats
such as Maze - each collecting two gold
medals - to many others who serve as the
inspiration for Slovenian kids, spurring
them on to achieve greatness for
themselves and their nation.
You can’t foretell the future without
knowing the past. In reliving former
"Olympic moments", we can but think that
Rio de Janeiro will hold new success stories
for Slovenian athletes and joy for their
followers.
Year Medal Gold Silver Bronze Total
1992 Summer OG 2 2
1994 Winter OG 3 3
1996 Summer OG 2 2
2000 Summer OG 2 2
2002 Winter OG 1 1
2004 Summer OG 1 3 4
2008 Summer OG 1 2 2 5
2010 Winter OG 2 1 3
2012 Summer OG 1 1 2 4
2014 Winter OG 2 2 4 8
Total 6 10 18 34
SOURCE: www.mizs.gov.si
Interesting facts:
Over 60 world records in ski jumping and ski flying have been set in Planica.
Ski jumpers in Planica were the first to break the magic 100-metre and 200-metre
barriers.
Slovene Davo Karničar was the first man to ski down Mount Everest, the highest
mountain in the world? He was also the first man in the world to ski the highest
peaks of all seven continents.
The Slovene ultra-marathon swimmer Martin Strel was the first man to
successfully swim the Amazon, the Mississippi and the Yangtze.
46 The Slovenia Times – Special Edition