Leon Štukelj (; 12 November 1898 – 8 November 1999) was a Slovene professional gymnast. He was an

Olympic gold medalist This article lists the individuals who have won at least four gold medals at the Olympic Games or at least three gold medals in individual events. List of most Olympic gold medals over career This is a partial list of multiple Olympic gold medalis ...

and athlete who represented

Yugoslavia at the Olympics Teams from Yugoslavia first participated at the Olympic Games in 1920. Previously, several athletes from Croatia, Slovenia and northern Serbian province Vojvodina had competed for Austria or Hungary when those countries were part of the Empire of A ...

. He is a noted figure in

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

n sporting history. Štukelj is one of the first Slovene athletes to have risen to the very top of his sport, where he remained right from the World Championships in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

in 1922 all the way to the 1936

Olympic Games in Berlin The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

, at which point he finished his competitive gymnastics career. Štukelj competed at seven major international competitions and won a total of twenty

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

s: eight gold, six silver, and six bronze. At the Olympic Games alone he won six medals: two gold medals (counted for Yugoslavia) in Paris in 1924, one gold medal and two bronze in Amsterdam in 1928, and a silver medal in Berlin in 1936.

Biography

Štukelj was born in

Novo Mesto Novo Mesto (; sl, Novo mesto; also known by other alternative names) is a city on a bend of the Krka River in the City Municipality of Novo Mesto in southeastern Slovenia, close to the border with Croatia. The town is traditionally considered t ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(now in

). In 1927, Štukelj graduated with a degree in law. Since his youth, he was an active member of the Slovenian ''

Sokol The Sokol movement (, ''falcon'') is an all-age gymnastics organization first founded in Prague in the Czech region of Austria-Hungary in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner. It was based upon the principle of " a strong mind in a so ...

'' athletic movement. After finishing his sports career, he became a judge, first in his hometown Novo Mesto. Later, he moved to Lenart, and then to

Maribor Maribor ( , , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, th ...

, where he lived until his death. After World War II, Štukelj was not a supporter of the newly formed

Communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. He took part in the Yugoslav royalist (

Chetnik The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationa ...

) movement, hostile to Tito's partisans, and maintained contacts with the British

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

. For these reasons, he was suspicious to the new Communist regime. After the war, he was first imprisoned, then released; but permanently barred from being a judge. He worked as a

legal assistant A paralegal, also known as a legal assistant, or paralegal specialist is a professional who performs tasks that require knowledge of legal concepts but not the full expertise of a lawyer with a license to practice law. The market for paralegals ...

for the rest of his career. Štukelj was presented at the opening ceremony of the

Games of the XXVI Olympiad The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

in 1996 as the oldest living Olympic gold medalist at the time, where he shook hands with the current President of the United States at the time,

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

. He also presented the medals to winners in the men's team competition. His one-hundredth birthday in 1998 was a major celebration in Slovenia. Štukelj still exercised regularly until even just before his death, only four days short of his one-hundred and first birthday. He is the longest living individual Olympic gold medalist. Today a sports hall in Novo Mesto, mainly used by a local basketball team, is named after him, in addition to the University Sports Hall situated on the campus of the

University of Maribor The University of Maribor ( sl, Univerza v Mariboru) is Slovenia's second-largest university, established in 1975 in Maribor, Slovenia. It currently has 17 faculties. History The university's roots reach back to 1859, when a theological semin ...

Hall of Fame

* (1997) – was inducted into the

International Gymnastics Hall of Fame The International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, located in Oklahoma City, USA, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring the achievements and contributions of the world's greatest competitors, coaches and authorities in artistic gymnastics. The early IGHO ...

* (2011) – was inducted into the

Slovenian Athletes Hall of Fame The Slovenian Athletes Hall of Fame (slovene: "''Hram slavnih slovenskih športnikov''") was founded in 2011 by the Society of Slovenian Sports Journalists (''Društvo športnih novinarjev Slovenije'') and includes best Slovenian athletes of all ti ...

dolenjskilist.si
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References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stukelj, Leon Yugoslav male artistic gymnasts Slovenian male artistic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 1924 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 1928 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnasts of Yugoslavia Olympic gold medalists for Yugoslavia Olympic silver medalists for Yugoslavia Olympic bronze medalists for Yugoslavia Olympic medalists in gymnastics Slovenian centenarians Sportspeople from Novo Mesto Sportspeople from Maribor 1898 births 1999 deaths Carniolan people Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1924 Summer Olympics Slovenian Chetnik personnel of World War II Men centenarians