ATHLETES from Slovenia

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Slovene Athletes of all time. This list of famous Slovene Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Slovene Athletes.

1. Martin Strel (1954 - )

With an HPI of 43.86, Martin Strel is the most famous Slovene Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages on wikipedia.

Martin Strel (; born 1 October 1954), is a Slovenian long-distance swimmer, one of the most elite endurance athletes best known for swimming the entire length of various rivers. Strel holds successive Guinness World Records for swimming the Danube river, the Mississippi River, the Yangtze River, and the Amazon River. His motto is "swimming for peace, friendship and clean waters."

2. Primož Kozmus (1979 - )

With an HPI of 38.06, Primož Kozmus is the 2nd most famous Slovene Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 35 different languages.

Primož Kozmus (born 30 September 1979 in Novo Mesto) is a Slovenian hammer thrower. His gold medals in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and the 2009 World Championships in Berlin made him the first ever Slovenian athlete to win both titles. His personal best throw and the Slovenian record is 82.58 metres, achieved in September 2009 in Celje, Slovenia. On 8 October 2009, Kozmus unexpectedly announced his temporary retirement from athletics. On 25 October 2010, he announced his return. After moderate achievements in the 2011 season, Kozmus stated his goal at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics was to place in the top eight in the finals. He won bronze with 79.39 m. Since then, he has also won the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

3. Teja Gregorin (1980 - )

With an HPI of 34.54, Teja Gregorin is the 3rd most famous Slovene Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Teja Gregorin (born 29 June 1980 in Ljubljana, SFR Yugoslavia) is a retired Slovenian biathlete.

4. Jolanda Čeplak (1976 - )

With an HPI of 33.64, Jolanda Čeplak is the 4th most famous Slovene Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Jolanda Batagelj (previously known as Jolanda Čeplak until 2002, born Jolanda Steblovnik on 12 September 1976) is a Slovenian middle distance athlete. She was born in Celje and lived in Velenje until briefly moving to Monaco. She has lived in Celje since.

5. Brigita Bukovec (1970 - )

With an HPI of 33.03, Brigita Bukovec is the 5th most famous Slovene Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Brigita Bukovec (born 21 May 1970) is a retired Slovenian hurdler who won an Olympic silver medal in 1996. During the Olympics she set a personal best time with 12.59 seconds. She retired from athletics at the end of the1999 season.

6. Iztok Čop (1972 - )

With an HPI of 32.95, Iztok Čop is the 6th most famous Slovene Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Iztok Čop (born 17 June 1972) is a Slovenian rower and Olympic gold medalist.

7. Klemen Bauer (1986 - )

With an HPI of 31.72, Klemen Bauer is the 7th most famous Slovene Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Klemen Bauer (born 9 January 1986 in Ljubljana, Slovenia) is a Slovenian biathlete. Bauer represented Slovenia at the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics, where he finished 4th in the sprint event. At the 2012 World Championships, Bauer won the silver medal at the mixed relay, together with Andreja Mali, Teja Gregorin and Jakov Fak.

8. Vasilij Žbogar (1975 - )

With an HPI of 27.88, Vasilij Žbogar is the 8th most famous Slovene Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Vasilij Žbogar (born 4 October 1975), is a Slovenian sailor. He was born in Koper. Žbogar competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics, where he won a bronze medal and in the 2008 Summer Olympics, where he won a silver medal, both of them in laser class. In 2010, he competed in the Barcolana regatta as a member of the record-setting yacht Esimit Europa 2, winning the event. In 2016, he competed in 2016 Summer Olympics and won a silver medal in Finn class. Žbogar was named Slovenian Sportsman of the year in 2004.

9. Giovanni Cernogoraz (1982 - )

With an HPI of 27.78, Giovanni Cernogoraz is the 9th most famous Slovene Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Giovanni Cernogoraz (born 27 December 1982) is a Croatian sports shooter. He is an Olympic, World and European champion in trap, as well as two-times European champion in team trap. Competing in shotgun events, he won the Olympic gold medal in men's trap at the London 2012 Summer Olympics. He was elected for Croatian Sportsman of the year by Sportske novosti in 2012.

10. Luka Špik (1979 - )

With an HPI of 27.10, Luka Špik is the 10th most famous Slovene Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Luka Špik (born 9 February 1979 in Kranj, SR Slovenia) is a Slovenian rower and Olympic gold medalist. At the 2005 World Championship, he won gold in the Double Sculls event together with Iztok Čop and silver in the Quadruple Sculls with Iztok Čop, Matej Prelog and Davor Mizerit. He also won the 2007 World Championships in M2X. Špik and Iztok Čop won the 1999 World Championship, and also the gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, which was the first Olympic gold medal for independent Slovenia. Špik and Čop were the favourites to repeat the victory in men's double sculls at the 2004 Summer Olympics, but finished in silver medal position. Coming into the 2012 Summer Olympics they were not the favourites, however with a strong performance in the semi-finals they announced they could be in the running for a medal. In the final of the Men's double sculls after taking an early lead and holding it until nearly the 1500 m mark, they lost the lead to the Italians and the later winners from New Zealand. They finished in the third position, giving Slovenia the second medal of the Olympics after Urška Žolnir won gold 2 days earlier.