Natasa Dusev-Janics ( sr-Latn, Nataša Dušev-Janić, sr-Cyrl, Наташа Душев-Јанић; born 24 June 1982) is a Hungarian

sprint canoer 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 has competed for

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

since 2001 and has won six Olympic medals in the sprint canoe events.

Early life

Natasa grew up in

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

and competed for

FR Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup A relationship breakup, breakup, or ...

at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

before moving to

. She is a daughter of

Milan Janić Milan Janić ( sr-cyrl, Милан Јанић; 14 June 1957 in Bačka Palanka - 1 January 2003 in Belgrade) was a Serbian canoe racing, sprint canoeist who competed from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s for Yugoslavia. Competing in ...

(1957-2003), a Serbian canoer who won a silver medal for Yugoslavia in the 1984 Olympic Games in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Both her brothers, Mićo and

Stjepan Janić Stjepan Janić ( sr, Стјепан Јанић; born 24 November 1980 in Bačka Palanka, Serbia), is a Serbian and Croatian sprint canoer. In 1998, he won his first silver medal as a member of the Serbia and Montenegro (then under Yu ...

, are canoers and have competed for Croatia since 2004. They took part in the

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...

, though Mićo was only nominated as a reserve.

Career

Janics won two Olympic gold medals in the sprint canoe events at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, another gold and silver medal at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

and silver and bronze at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. She has also won 26 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 ...

with 20 golds (K-1 200 m:

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

; K-2 200 m:

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, 2009, 2010; K-2 500 m: 2005, 2006; K-2 1000 m: 2005, 2006; K-4 200 m:

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, 2003, 2006; K-4 500 m: 2006, 2009, 2010; K-4 1000 m:

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, 2006; K-1 200 m relay:

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

) and six silvers (K-1 500 m: 2010, K-1 : 2009, 2010; K-2 200 m: 2015; K-2 500 m: 2013; K-4 200 m: 2009). She was elected Hungarian Sportswoman of the Year in 2004 and 2010. Together with

Katalin Kovács Katalin Kovács (born 29 February 1976) is a Hungarian sprint canoer. She competed in the 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics and won eight medals, with three golds (K-2 500 m: 2004, 2008, K-4 500 m: 2012) and five silvers (K-2 500 m: 2000, 20 ...

she earned the title Hungarian Sportsteam of the year in 2005, 2006 and 2010. On 4 October 2012 it was revealed that she made a decision to return and compete under the flag of her native country, Serbia. On 9 March 2013 she informed the Hungarian Canoe Federation in a letter about changing her mind and her wish to compete for Hungary during her professional career. She's been suffering from a

herniated disc Spinal disc herniation is an injury to the cushioning and connective tissue between vertebrae, usually caused by excessive strain or trauma to the spine. It may result in back pain, pain or sensation in different parts of the body, and physical ...

in her neck since 2012; in 2019 she has stated that it's reached a point where she is considering retirement.

Awards

* Yugoslav Young Athlete of the Year: 2000 * Hungarian kayaker of the Year (4): 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010 *

Hungarian Sportswoman of the Year Hungarian Sportspeople of the Year awards are granted each year since 1958, with categories for sportsmen, sportswomen, teams, coaches (since 1985) and presidents (since 1995). List of winners Statistics Individual winners of three or mor ...

(2) - votes of sports journalists: 2004, 2010 * Hungarian Athlete of the Year (1) - the National Sports Association (NSSZ) awards: 2004 * Person of the Year by

Magyar Szó ''Magyar Szó'' (lit. ''Hungarian Word'') is a Hungarian-language daily newspaper in Vojvodina, Serbia. It was founded in 1944, with the purpose of serving as the information source for the Hungarian minority of Vojvodina. It is published in No ...

: 2004 * Member of the Hungarian team of year (with

): 2005, 2006, 2010 * Príma Primissima award (2006) * Pro Universitate (2008) ;Orders and special awards * HUN Order of Merit of the Hungarian Rep (civil) 4class BAR

HUN Order of Merit of the Hungarian Rep (civil) 4class BAR

Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary The Hungarian Order of Merit ( hu, Magyar Érdemrend) is the fourth highest State Order of Hungary. Founded in 1991, the order is a revival of an original order founded in 1946 and abolished in 1949. Its origins, however, can be traced to the O ...

– Officer's Cross (2004) * HUN Order of Merit of the Hungarian Rep (civil) 3class BAR

Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary – Commander's Cross (2008) * HUN Order of Merit of the Hungarian Rep (civil) 2class BAR

Order of Merit of Hungary – Commander's Cross with Star (2012)

References

Canoe09.ca profile
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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dusev-Janics, Natasa 1982 births Living people People from Bačka Palanka Canoeists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Hungarian female canoeists Hungarian people of Serbian descent Olympic canoeists of Hungary Olympic canoeists of Yugoslavia Olympic gold medalists for Hungary Olympic silver medalists for Hungary Serbian female canoeists Olympic medalists in canoeing ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in kayak Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Hungary Croats of Vojvodina