Leonard Peter "Len" Vlahov (29 June 1940 – 24 February 1997) was an Australian

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete who specialised in the discus. He was the national champion in 1969 and 1975, and represented Australia at the

1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Perth, Australia, from 22 November to 1 December 1962. Athletic events were held at Perry Lakes Stadium in the suburb of Floreat and swimming events at Beatty Park in North Perth. The ...

and the

1967 Summer Universiade The 1967 Summer Universiade, also known as the V Summer Universiade, took place in Tokyo, Japan. Eastern Bloc countries including Soviet Union, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, Cuba, Czechoslovakia and North Korea boycotted the Games due to th ...

Early life and education

Vlahov was born in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, with both his parents being Croatian immigrants. He attended Perth Junior Technical School and

Kent Street Senior High School Kent Street Senior High School is a public co-educational specialist high day and boarding school in the Town of Victoria Park, located on Kent Street in East Victoria Park, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Over 50 percent of students a ...

, and then went on to the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

, where he received an initial Bachelor of Economics (B.Ec.) degree and then completed a Master of Education (M.Ed.) degree.Dr Len Vlahov
, UWA Athletics Club. Retrieved 30 November 2016.

Athletics career

Vlahov was the Western Australian state champion in the discus 20 times, and runner-up on another four occasions. He also won the state

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

title three times, the

decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in Athletics (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...

twice, and the

hammer throw The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin. The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consis ...

once. Between 1960 and 1975, Vlahov medalled for Western Australia in thirteen editions of the Australian Open Track and Field Championships. He won two gold medals (in 1969 and 1975), nine silver medals, and three bronze medals. With the exception of a bronze medal for the

in 1969, all of his medals were for the discus.Len VLAHOV (WA)
Australian Athletics Historical Results. Retrieved 30 November 2016. At the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, hosted in Perth, Vlahov was one of four Australians selected to compete in the men's discus event. He placed sixth overall with a throw of , and was the second-best Australian behind gold medallist

Warwick Selvey Warwick Perrins Selvey (3 December 1939 – 16 August 2018) was an Australian Olympic athlete who competed in the shot put and discus events. Selvey won a total of 18 Australian Championships in Athletics between 1960 and 1973 which is a rec ...

. Vlahov also represented Australia at the

in Tokyo, and served as the flag-bearer. He threw to place fourth overall, landing behind bronze medallist Neal Steinhauer of the United States.

Later life and family

Vlahov completed a doctorate in education at

Murdoch University Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its n ...

, and eventually became a professor at Edith Cowan University. He also conducted work at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

in the United States. A member of the Lutheran Church of Australia, Vlahov was chairman of the group behind the establishment of the

Living Waters Lutheran College The Living Waters Lutheran College is an independent Lutheran school providing a Kindergarten to year 12 education in Warnbro, Western Australia Warnbro is a southern outer suburb of Perth, the capital of Western Australia, located on Warn ...

, Western Australia's only Lutheran school at the time of its opening. Vlahov died of cancer in 1997, aged 56. He was married to Eva Kampe, who also represented Australia in athletics at the 1962 Perth Games. Their son,

Andrew Vlahov Andrew Mitchell Vlahov (born 1 April 1969) is an Australian retired professional basketball player. He played his entire eleven-year professional career for the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League (NBL), with whom he won three cha ...

, became a professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player, while a grandson,

Griffin Logue Griffin Logue (born 13 April 1998) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), having previously played for the Fremantle Football Club. AFL career Logu ...

, is a professional

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er."Gene pool gifts Griffin Logue the pedigree to dominate"
''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...

'', 20 November 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vlahov, Len 1940 births 1997 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Australian Lutherans Australian male discus throwers Australian male shot putters Australian people of Croatian descent Deaths from cancer in Western Australia Academic staff of Edith Cowan University Murdoch University alumni Athletes from Perth, Western Australia University of Western Australia alumni People educated at Kent Street Senior High School Track and field athletes from Western Australia Commonwealth Games competitors for Australia 20th-century Lutherans