The Most Famous

ATHLETES from Slovenia

This page contains a list of the greatest Slovene Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 44 of which were born in Slovenia. This makes Slovenia the birth place of the 57th most number of Athletes behind Dominican Republic, and Georgia.

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. Valerio Perentin (1909 - 1998)

With an HPI of 55.36, Valerio Perentin is the most famous Slovene Athlete. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages on wikipedia.

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.

2. Giovanni Delise (1907 - 1947)

With an HPI of 54.63, Giovanni Delise is the 2nd most famous Slovene Athlete. His biography has been translated into 17 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.

3. Martin Strel (b. 1954)

With an HPI of 53.64, Martin Strel is the 3rd most famous Slovene Athlete. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

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."

4. Primož Kozmus (b. 1979)

With an HPI of 51.69, Primož Kozmus is the 4th 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.

5. Brigita Bukovec (b. 1970)

With an HPI of 48.43, Brigita Bukovec is the 5th most famous Slovene Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 23 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.

6. Teja Gregorin (b. 1980)

With an HPI of 48.36, Teja Gregorin is the 6th most famous Slovene Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

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

7. Iztok Čop (b. 1972)

With an HPI of 46.44, Iztok Čop is the 7th 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.

8. Jolanda Čeplak (b. 1976)

With an HPI of 45.38, Jolanda Čeplak is the 8th 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.

9. Milan Janša (b. 1965)

With an HPI of 44.40, Milan Janša is the 9th most famous Slovene Athlete. His biography has been translated into 14 different languages.

Milan Janša (born 26 September 1965 in Jesenice) is a former Slovenian rower and Olympic medallist at the 1992 Summer Olympics. He competed in four consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1988 for Yugoslavia.

10. Sadik Mujkič (b. 1968)

With an HPI of 43.94, Sadik Mujkič is the 10th most famous Slovene Athlete. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Sadik Mujkič (born 29 February 1968) is a retired Slovenian rower and Olympic medallist at the 1988 and the 1992 Summer Olympics.

People

Pantheon has 52 people classified as Slovene athletes born between 1907 and 2004. Of these 52, 49 (94.23%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Slovene athletes include Martin Strel, Primož Kozmus, and Brigita Bukovec. The most famous deceased Slovene athletes include Valerio Perentin, Giovanni Delise, and Sašo Mirjanič. As of April 2024, 8 new Slovene athletes have been added to Pantheon including Milan Janša, Sadik Mujkič, and Andreja Mali.