The Most Famous

ATHLETES from Slovenia

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This page contains a list of the greatest Slovene Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 15 of which were born in Slovenia. This makes Slovenia the birth place of the 52nd most number of Athletes behind Turkey, and Armenia.

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.

Photo of Martin Strel

1. Martin Strel (b. 1954)

With an HPI of 45.91, 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."

Photo of Valerio Perentin

2. Valerio Perentin (1909 - 1998)

With an HPI of 44.49, Valerio Perentin is the 2nd most famous Slovene Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Valerio Perentin (12 July 1909 in Izola, Austria-Hungary – 7 January 1998) was an Italian rower who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics and in the 1936 Summer Olympics. In 1928 he won the gold medal as member of the Italian boat in the coxed four event. Eight years later he was part of the Italian boat which was eliminated in the repechage of the coxed four competition.

Photo of Peter Kauzer

3. Peter Kauzer (b. 1983)

With an HPI of 42.65, Peter Kauzer is the 3rd most famous Slovene Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Peter Kauzer (born 8 September 1983) is a Slovenian slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 1999.

Photo of Giovanni Delise

4. Giovanni Delise (1907 - 1947)

With an HPI of 42.06, Giovanni Delise is the 4th most famous Slovene Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Giovanni Delise (1 November 1907 – 19 May 1947) was an Italian rower who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics. In 1928 he won the gold medal as a member of the Italian boat in the coxed four event.

Photo of Teja Gregorin

5. Teja Gregorin (b. 1980)

With an HPI of 41.19, Teja Gregorin is the 5th most famous Slovene Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

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

Photo of Primož Kozmus

6. Primož Kozmus (b. 1979)

With an HPI of 39.50, Primož Kozmus is the 6th most famous Slovene Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 36 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.

Photo of Jolanda Čeplak

7. Jolanda Čeplak (b. 1976)

With an HPI of 37.63, Jolanda Čeplak is the 7th most famous Slovene Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 22 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.

Photo of Brigita Bukovec

8. Brigita Bukovec (b. 1970)

With an HPI of 36.89, Brigita Bukovec is the 8th most famous Slovene Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 22 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 the 1999 season.

Photo of Kristjan Čeh

9. Kristjan Čeh (b. 1999)

With an HPI of 35.01, Kristjan Čeh is the 9th most famous Slovene Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Kristjan Čeh (born 17 February 1999) is a Slovenian athlete specialising in the discus throw. He won the gold medal at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, setting a championship record in the process. Čeh placed second at the 2023 World Championships and the 2022 European Championships.

Photo of Iztok Čop

10. Iztok Čop (b. 1972)

With an HPI of 35.01, Iztok Čop is the 10th most famous Slovene Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

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

People

Pantheon has 44 people classified as Slovene athletes born between 1907 and 2004. Of these 44, 42 (95.45%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Slovene athletes include Martin Strel, Peter Kauzer, and Teja Gregorin. The most famous deceased Slovene athletes include Valerio Perentin, and Giovanni Delise. As of April 2024, 29 new Slovene athletes have been added to Pantheon including Valerio Perentin, Giovanni Delise, and Kristjan Čeh.

Living Slovene Athletes

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Deceased Slovene Athletes

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Newly Added Slovene Athletes (2024)

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