Olga Šikovec (later Luncer, 17 January 1933 – 4 April 2023) was a Croatian sprinter of Slovenian origin. She competed for

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

at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

in the 100 m and 200 m events, but failed to reach the finals. Two years later she was part of the Yugoslav 4 × 100 m relay team that finished fourth at the

European championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

and set a national record. Šikovec had a brother Rudi and sister Sonja; they lost their father in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. At school she played volleyball and table tennis, and changed to athletics in 1953. In 1959 she married a well known sports journalist Vilko Luncer, and in 1961 moved from Trbovlje to

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

. Between 1955 and 1965 she won 24 Yugoslav titles over 60 m, 100 m and 200 m distances, and was named as Slovenian (1960) and Croatian (1962) Athlete of the Year. She retired from competitions in 1966 and later worked as a sports administrator and referee. Following an example of her husband, who was a long-term editor for the ''Zagreb Sports News'', she also wrote on sport-related topics. Her son Bojan Luncer became a middle-distance runner and a member of the Yugoslav junior team and Croatian champion in 800m and 4x400m relay. He was first founding CEO of Lidl Croatia and Lidl International Board Member later. Olga Šikovec died in Zagreb on 4 April 2023, at the age of 90.

References

1933 births 2023 deaths Croatian female sprinters Olympic athletes for Yugoslavia Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Trbovlje Croatian people of Slovenian descent Yugoslav female sprinters Olympic female sprinters Yugoslavian Athletics Championships winners {{Yugoslavia-athletics-bio-stub