He is a noted figure in Slovenian 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 in 1922 all the way to the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, at which point he finished his competitive gymnastics career.
Štukelj competed at seven major international competitions and won a total of twenty medals: 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.
In 1927, Štukelj graduated with a degree in law. Since his youth, he was an active member of the Slovenian Sokol 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, where he lived until his death. After World War II, Štukelj was not a supporter of the newly formed Communist regime of Yugoslavia. He took part in the Yugoslav royalist (Chetnik) movement, hostile to Tito's partisans, and maintained contacts with the British Special Operations Executive.[2][3][4] 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 for the rest of his career.
Štukelj was presented at the opening ceremony of the Games of the XXVI Olympiad in Atlanta 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. 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.
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.
Leon Štukelj at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics on YouTube
May 08, 2024
leon, Štukelj, listen, november, 1898, november, 1999, slovene, professional, gymnast, olympic, gold, medalist, athlete, represented, yugoslavia, olympics, Štukelj, 1958, displaying, olympic, medalspersonal, informationcountry, represented, yugoslaviaborn, 189. Leon Stukelj listen 12 November 1898 8 November 1999 was a Slovene professional gymnast He was an Olympic gold medalist and athlete who represented Yugoslavia at the Olympics 1 Leon StukeljStukelj in 1958 displaying his six Olympic medalsPersonal informationCountry represented YugoslaviaBorn 1898 11 12 12 November 1898Novo Mesto Carniola Austria Hungary now Slovenia Died8 November 1999 1999 11 08 aged 100 Maribor SloveniaDisciplineMen s artistic gymnasticsMedal record Men s gymnastics Representing Yugoslavia Olympic Games 1924 Paris All around 1924 Paris Horizontal bar 1928 Amsterdam Rings 1928 Amsterdam Team competition 1928 Amsterdam All around 1936 Berlin Rings World Championships 1922 Ljubljana Parallel bars 1922 Ljubljana Horizontal bar 1922 Ljubljana Rings 1926 Lyon Horizontal bar 1926 Lyon Rings 1922 Ljubljana Pommel horse 1926 Lyon Parallel bars 1930 Luxembourg Horizontal bar He is a noted figure in Slovenian sporting history Stukelj 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 in 1922 all the way to the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin at which point he finished his competitive gymnastics career Stukelj competed at seven major international competitions and won a total of twenty medals 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 Contents 1 Biography 2 Hall of Fame 3 References 4 External linksBiography editStukelj was born in Novo Mesto Austria Hungary now in Slovenia In 1927 Stukelj graduated with a degree in law Since his youth he was an active member of the Slovenian Sokol 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 where he lived until his death After World War II Stukelj was not a supporter of the newly formed Communist regime of Yugoslavia He took part in the Yugoslav royalist Chetnik movement hostile to Tito s partisans and maintained contacts with the British Special Operations Executive 2 3 4 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 for the rest of his career Stukelj was presented at the opening ceremony of the Games of the XXVI Olympiad in Atlanta 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 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 Stukelj still exercised regularly until even just before his death only four days short of his one hundred and first birthday 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 Hall of Fame edit 1997 was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame 5 2011 was inducted into the Slovenian Athletes Hall of Fame 6 References edit Leon Stukelj Olympedia Retrieved 3 October 2021 Archived copy PDF Archived from the original PDF on 28 June 2011 Retrieved 3 March 2011 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Slovenacke straze đenerala Draze Cetnici Archived from the original on 18 July 2012 Retrieved 3 March 2011 LEON STUKELJ International Gymnastics Hall of Fame Retrieved 12 May 2007 dolenjskilist siExternal links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Leon Stukelj Leon Stukelj at the International Gymnastics Federation nbsp Leon Stukelj at the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame nbsp Leon Stukelj at Olympics com nbsp Leon Stukelj at Olympedia nbsp Leon Stukelj Ave Triumphator at the Wayback Machine archived 4 December 2003 Leon Stukelj the 100 year old Olympic legend at the Wayback Machine archived 1 December 2007 Leon Stukelj at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Leon Stukelj amp oldid 1221520495, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
