Juraj Tarr (born 18 February 1979) is a Slovak flatwater

sprint canoeist Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race canoes or kayaks on calm water. Overview Race categories vary by the number of athletes in the boat, the length of the course, and whether the boat is a canoe or kayak. Canoe sprints are som ...

who competes in two-man (K-2) and four-man (K-4) events. He participated in four Olympics in the K-4 1000 m event and won silver medals in 2008 and 2016, placing fourth in 2000 and sixth in 2012. He also won eight medals at the

ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships The ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships are an international event in canoe racing, one of two Summer Olympic sport events organized by the International Canoe Federation (the other being the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships). The World Cham ...

in 2005–2015, including four gold medals. Tarr belongs to the

Hungarian minority in Slovakia Hungarians are the largest ethnic minority in Slovakia. According to th2021 Slovak census 422,065 people (or 7.75% of the population) declared themselves Hungarians, while 462,175 (8.48% of the population) stated that Hungarian language, Hu ...

. He took up canoeing aged eight, following his father Juraj Tarr Sr., who competed internationally for

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. He was named Slovak Kayaker of the Year in 2014 (together with Erik Vlček) and in 2015. Earlier in 1997 he was diagnosed with

thyroid cancer Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck. C ...

and semi-retired from sport for three years to undergo intensive treatment.

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* * * * * * * 1979 births Canoeists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Living people Olympic canoeists for Slovakia Olympic silver medalists for Slovakia Slovak male canoeists Olympic medalists in canoeing Hungarians in Slovakia Sportspeople from Komárno ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in kayak Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2015 European Games European Games competitors for Slovakia {{Slovakia-Olympic-medalist-stub